Islamabad, Kabul have deep-rooted ties, says Afghan FM

KABUL: Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani has said that Pakistan and Afghanistan are bonded by geography, culture, religion and history and it was essential to further promote and strengthen the bilateral relations for mutual benefit of the two neighbouring countries.

Addressing the National Day reception held at the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul on Friday, Salahuddin Rabbani condemned the terrorist attack in Lahore that caused heavy casualties, most of whom were women and children. A large number of Afghan dignitaries including ministers, members of parliament, business community and members of diplomatic corps attended the reception.

Speaking on the occasion, the Afghan Foreign Minister said that both Pakistan and Afghanistan had been facing the challenge of terrorism and they required to jointly fight the menace. He felicitated the government of Pakistan on behalf of the people and government of Afghanistan on its National Day reception. He also expressed his gratitude to the government of Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees for a long time.

Pakistan Ambassador to Afghanistan Syed Abrar Hussain addressing the reception said that it was highly imperative to build a multi-pronged and dynamic Pak-Afghan relationship which is befitting to the traditions and values of the two sides.

He said that Pakistan wanted to promote cooperation with Afghanistan. "Peace and stability in Afghanistan would ensure peace and stability in Pakistan, the region and the world" he added.  The ambassador lauded the immense progress made by Afghanistan in the past 14 years,  saying it has started to emerge as a stable democracy, is continuing to develop a resilient security force, and is visualising a reformative economic agenda as goals for the transformation decade.

The ambassador went on to say that the vision of Pakistani leadership hinged on close and cooperative relations with Afghanistan for which Pakistan had made serious efforts especially since the National Unity Government (NUG) took charge in Afghanistan in September 2014. He informed the participants that Pakistan had made abundantly clear that peaceful, stable and economically developed Afghanistan was in its vital national interest.

Syed Abrar Hussain stated that Pakistan and Afghanistan faced many challenges which can be overcome by forging a multi-faceted cooperative relationship by the two sides. He also underlined the need for taking joint efforts to fight terrorism, poverty, hunger and disease. At the end, he thanked all participants for attending the reception.