Pakistan, Afghanistan to hold parliamentary level talks

Breakthrough comes during a meeting between Qaiser, Rahmani on the sidelines of 141st Assembly of IPU in Belgrade

ISLAMABAD: An important breakthrough in the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan took place when the speakers of assemblies from both sides decided to hold bilateral talks at a parliamentary level to promote cooperation and understanding as well as to evolve a trust-based strategy for fostering people-to-people contacts.

The development took place when National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser met with his Afghan Counterpart Rahman Rahmani on the sidelines of the 141st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Afghan speaker appreciated the efforts of the government and parliament of Pakistan for improving the state of affairs between the two states and lauded the initiatives of Prime Minister Imran Khan for expanding the scope of cooperation by opening the Torkham border round-the-clock for trade operations.

Qaiser informed Rahmani that the National Assembly of Pakistan was ready to offer its services for enhancing the capacity of Afghan parliamentarians and parliamentary officials through the platform of Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS).

He extended an invitation to the Afghan speaker for leading a parliamentary delegation to Pakistan to discuss the outstanding bilateral issues including relaxation in the visa regime as well as the expansion of trade and commerce activities between the two countries.

While informing the Afghan delegation about Indian brutalities in occupied Kashmir, Qaiser urged Rahmani to play his role in normalising the situation in the held valley which was under siege for the last 72 days.

The maiden meeting between the speakers of Pakistan and Afghanistan proved instrumental in paving way for continued cooperation through parliamentary platforms.