Afghan diplomat welcomes army chief’s visit to Kabul

PESHAWAR: Afghan Consul General in Peshawar Dr Muhammad Moeen Marastial, on Wednesday welcomed the recent visit by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to Kabul and hoped that would lead to regional peace.

"Such contacts and visits at the government level in both the countries should continue as these will improve the ties between the two brotherly Islamic countries and strengthen the efforts for peace," he said while speaking at a press conference in the Afghanistan Consulate General. The Afghan diplomat said that Afghanistan President Dr Ashraf Ghani would soon visit Pakistan. "However, a high-level delegation of the Foreign Ministry will visit Pakistan first in a week or two to talk to the Pakistani counterparts," he added.

He said both Afghanistan and Pakistan should work in unison for peace in the region. Dr Muhammad Moeen Marastial said efforts had been launched through high-level contacts for the last few months for peace in both countries. "It is a welcome step and must continue," he said. Expressing grief at the frequent terror incidents in Kabul, he said such acts became recurrent whenever there is progress in efforts for Pak-Afghan peace. "These are aimed at damaging the peace process," he explained.

Talking of the killing of nine journalists in Afghanistan, the diplomat said he was grateful to the Pakistan government, media and journalist bodies for expressing solidarity with Afghanistan.