Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman arrives in Pakistan

The Afghan official and his delegation will attend the first review session of the APAPPS in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman and a high-level Afghan delegation arrived in Pakistan on Monday to be a part of the first review session of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) in Islamabad.

‘Pakistan wants peace, prosperity in Afghanistan’

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood will lead the Pakistan delegation while Zaman will lead the Afghan side.

The Islamabad session will provide the two sides with an opportunity to review progress made under this framework since the inaugural session and to exchange views on further collaboration in agreed areas of cooperation.

The APAPPS was established in May last year to provide a comprehensive and structured framework for institutional bilateral engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan in diverse areas of cooperation.

The mechanism works through five working groups namely politico-diplomatic, military-to-military coordination, intelligence cooperation, economic and refugees.

The inaugural session of APAPPS was held in Kabul on July 22 last year, where the two sides had agreed to synergize efforts to enhance bilateral cooperation and build trust.

The Afghan delegation was led by the deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai, and the Pakistani side was led by the former foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua.

Afridi asks Afghan refugees to respect Pakistan’s red lines

The Pak-Afghan sides assessed prospects for the APAPPS forum. Following the inaugural session, the five working groups held their respective group meetings at the level of relevant ministries and departments.