Hopes run high: Ashraf Ghani due in Islamabad today

Talks will focus on bilateral political engagement


Kamran Yousaf/tahir Khan November 14, 2014

ISLAMABAD:


Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is due to arrive in Islamabad today (Friday) on an official visit, which is being seen as a bid to reset ties between the two neighbours ahead of the US drawdown later this year.


This will be Ghani’s first visit to Pakistan since taking over as Afghanistan’s president from Hamid Karzai.

According to the foreign ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam, the Afghan president would be accompanied by a high-level delegation including senior leaders, cabinet ministers and business representatives.

Aslam told reporters at her weekly news briefing on Thursday that talks between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Ashraf Ghani would focus on all dimensions of the Pak-Afghan relations.



Talks between the two leaders will focus on bilateral political engagement, trade and economic cooperation, border security and counter-terrorism, energy and connectivity, reconstruction and rehabilitation, and people-to-people contacts, the spokesperson said.

Aslam emphasised that the trip comes at a ‘historic juncture’ in Afghanistan, marked by the first peaceful transfer of power and formation of the unity government in Kabul.

“Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are based on immutable bonds of faith, culture and kinship. The two nations have faced many challenges together and stood by each other in times of need,” she said. During Ghani’s predecessor’s term in office, both nations regularly accused each other of allowing militants to shelter in the border regions and launch attacks that threatened regional stability. However, with Ghani at the helm, both sides are keen to move beyond the bitter past.

Ahead of the two-day state visit, the Afghan president said he would share his vision for increased cooperation between the two countries. Ghani is also hoping that improved ties with Islamabad may help revive efforts for peace talks with Afghan Taliban. Responding to a question during her interaction with the reporters, Aslam reiterated that peace and stability in Afghanistan were in Pakistan’s vital interest. “Pakistan has consistently supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process,” she said.

Expressing optimism about the visit, the Afghan president’s spokesman said the trip will provide an opportunity for both countries to improve relations and explore ways to expand ties. “Afghanistan will take advantage of the visit to discuss those matters which are in our mutual interest,” the presidential aide told Azadi Radio in Kabul ahead of Ghani’s visit.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2014.

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