Chief minister says visit to Kabul ‘very fruitful’

Plans to initiate working groups on matters of bilateral interest, including trade

PESHAWAR: Satisfied with his two-day visit to Kabul, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak eyes a better future for the region through bilateral trade with Afghanistan.

“We have to convert our locational disadvantage into an advantage by starting business relations with Afghanistan,” he told journalists accompanying him on his journey from Kabul to Peshawar on Thursday. “I see better fortunes when the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan establish trustworthy relations with each other.”

He said Afghan President Dr Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah agreed, in principle, to establish working groups to discuss ways and means to exploit existing trade, business and investment opportunities. The chief minister said although it was his first visit to Kabul, it proved very fruitful.



During his visit, Khattak held meetings with numerous other individuals including former president Hamid Karzai, Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, Trade and Commerce Minister Muzamil Shinwari, Refugees Repatriation Minister Syed Muhammad Alam Balkhi and others.

He was accompanied by a number of provincial ministers. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan, Senator Mohsin Aziz, K-P Chamber of Commerce and Industries President Fawad Ishaq were with Khattak in Kabul, amongst others.

Before leaving for the neighbouring country, the chief minister consulted his party chief Imran Khan and he conveyed his leader’s best wishes to the Afghan leadership. “I found President Dr Ashraf Ghani to be a different man who showed interest in economic progress and prosperity, eliminating corruption, reforming institutions and ensuring maximum civic services to the people,” Khattak remarked in response to a question.

He said the agenda set by President Ghani was similar to Imran Khan’s, adding there was a wide range of opportunities to work together. He said both countries faced similar problems and therefore needed to join hands to eliminate them.

Working groups

Referring to proposals aiming to strengthen ties between K-P and Afghanistan, Khattak said the working group would comprise representatives of traders and industrialists, the bureaucracy and Parliament.

He said both sides would focus on trade, industries and tourism in the preliminary stages. He added the process of establishing the working groups would be initiated within a week. Khattak stated complete data of all those Afghans and Pakistanis engaged in labour or other economic activities in both countries would be maintained.

The chief minister believed the problems faced by Afghan and Pakistani nationals would be solved through this approach. He said a system would be evolved to ensure the safety and protection of people on both sides of the Durand Line.

Touching upon the ongoing wave of terrorism, Khattak said the Afghan leadership was in favour of handling the subject in a peaceful and political manner, adding it was interested in maximum coordination with Pakistan for the purpose.

In Kabul

Earlier in Kabul, Khattak, Shinwari and Balkhi had discussed a number of steps needed to strength relations. Khattak and Shinwari discussed the potential of establishing joint industrial estates along the Pak-Afghan border. They highlighted the importance of joint terminals for transporters in improving bilateral trade.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2015.