Army chief’s visits helped improve Pak-Afghan ties, says Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Expressing satisfaction over the increased security cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said that the visits of Chief of the Army Chief (COAS) General Raheel Sharif to Afghanistan proved quite helpful in streamlining important matters between the two countries. He said that Pakistan hoped for success of the peace dialogue in Afghanistan.
In a major development, the prime minister also approved the appointment of a focal person for following up implementation on the decisions taken during the inter-ministerial meeting between the two countries on a daily basis.
A similar focal person would be appointed from the Afghan side as well. This was stated by Prime Minister Nawaz here during a meeting with Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Janan Mosazai at the PM House.
Talking to the Afghan envoy, the prime minister said that the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan had been undergoing a qualitative transformation since the new government took over last year. The ambassador thanked Pakistan for providing generous support to Afghanistan in the form of relief supplies in the wake of the destruction caused by the recent avalanches. The ambassador conveyed the best wishes of the Afghan president to Nawaz Sharif. He also thanked the prime minister for sending a message of solidarity to the president of Afghanistan in this hour of grief.
The prime minister said Pakistan stood by its brotherly neighbouring country in this hour of need, adding that he was deeply troubled learning about the devastating avalanches in Afghanistan. Pakistan would be happy to provide any further assistance that the people of Afghanistan might need to meet this challenging situation, he said.
He was pleased to note that the first meeting of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Business Council would take place in the next few weeks to attract international investors to both the countries.
The prime minister said that Pakistan hoped the process of peace talks in Afghanistan would reach a successful conclusion soon. The ambassador said Afghanistan was highly appreciative of Prime Minister Nawaz’s vision of peaceful coexistence with all the neighbouring countries. He informed the prime minister that there was a strong domestic consensus in Afghanistan on peace efforts these days.Matters relating to the Afghan transit trade and CASA-1000 power transmission project also came under discussion during the meeting.