‘Pakistan supports Afghan-led peace process’

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Sardar Awais Leghari on Friday said Pakistan strongly supports an Afghan-led peace process which is instrumental for Pakistan’s own security.

He said this in a meeting with the visiting Afghan delegation led by Speaker Wolesy Jirga Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi. Leghari said Pakistan wants the return of Afghan refugees in a dignified manner. He said Pakistan wishes to see greater media consultation and interaction in the future.

Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said that he feels no hesitation in expressing that  their fears and perceptions were different altogether after meeting the Pakistan brothers. He thanked the government and the people of Pakistan for helping to recover the recently-abducted former governor Fazlullah Wahidi. He said the abduction could only be the work of Pakistan’s and Afghanistan’s enemy and that the two states needed to counter any efforts that were not in the mutual interest of the neighbourly countries.

“We should continue to exchange parliamentary delegations to raise the level of trust and also try to identify the real enemies who always created mistrust among us through their negative propaganda,” he added. Ibrahimi also appreciated the professional role of the Foreign Affairs Committee for taking such initiatives. He reiterated that strengthening the Pak-Afghan relations is inevitable and shall be done through strategic vulnerability assessment studies.

The members of both sides also stressed the need for exchange of parliamentary delegations between the two countries to work more closely in different areas, particularly enhancing the trust level.