Imran Khan, Ashraf Ghani discuss Afghan peace process

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday discussed the latest stage in the Afghan peace process. Imran highlighted Pakistan’s positive contribution to the peace process, strongly stressing that peace in Afghanistan was of paramount importance.

He expressed the hope that the current momentum would be further built to implement the US-Taliban peace agreement in its entirety, leading to the intra-Afghan negotiations at the earliest.

He said, “Pakistan looks forward to the next session of Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) at the earliest”. The two leaders had discussions, as Ashraf Ghani called Imran Khan and extended felicitations on Eid-ul-Azha, says a statement released by the Prime Minister’sOffice. Imran reciprocated the Eid greetings and observed that this year Eidul Azha came when the international community was facing a number of challenges, including COVID-19.

He commiserated with President Ghani on the loss of lives in Afghanistan due to COVID-19 and expressed hope that COVID-19 would be successfully contained. Imran informed President Ghani about the government’s strategy against COVID-19 with particular emphasis on saving lives, securing livelihoods, and stimulating economy. Referring to various institutional mechanisms between the two countries, Imran highlighted the importance of working together to further strengthen bilateral relations.