Imran, Ghani agree to strive for ending Afghan violence

KABUL: Prime Minister Imran Khan assured the Afghan government on Thursday of Pakistan’s “unflinching” support and cooperation to end violence, as the two neighbouring countries agreed to speed up joint efforts to reduce spate of terrorist incidents in the war-torn country through close coordination and intelligence sharing.

Speaking at a joint press stake-out at ARG Presidential Palace, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani reaffirmed their commitment towards taking urgent steps leading to restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Khan, who arrived in the Afghan capital on his maiden visit to the neighbouring country, held talks with President Ghani, which focused on strengthening bilateral ties, intra-Afghan peace process and regional economic development. Khan assured the Afghan government of Pakistan’s unflinching support and cooperation to end violence and for a ceasefire. “Let us know where we can help you. We assure you that we will be there to help reduce slur of violence,” the Prime Minister told the Afghan President, as the two spoke before the local and international media.

Khan expressed concern over increasing violence in Afghanistan and supported the idea of establishing committees from the two governments to hold mutual discussions.

Prime Minister Khan thanked President Ghani for extending him an invitation to visit Afghanistan, expressing confidence that it would lead to further strengthening of ties between the two countries.

He said Pakistan and Afghanistan enjoyed historic links and brotherly relations, and recalled that during the era of 70s Kabul and Peshawar were the favourite destinations for the visitors from both sides.

Khan regretted that the people of Afghanistan unfortunately suffered violence for four decades and Pakistan was most concerned about the situation due to the fallout of situation in its own tribal areas.

“My visit at this particular time has a message that Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan,” he added. The Prime Minister said peace and connectivity was the best way to ensure prosperity of Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as the entire region.

He said close cooperation between the committees from both sides and intelligence agencies would lead towards finding effective solutions for peace and stability. He said Pakistan played a consistent role in intra-Afghan dialogue and noticed with concern the increasing level of violence despite the Qatar peace deal inked between the US and Taliban in Doha in February. “Now again to build trust, we will help the Afghan government to meet their expectations,” he said.

Earlier, President Ghani welcomed the Prime Minister, saying the visit was a “step to strengthen faith and cooperation”. “Our common focus will be poverty eradication and empowerment of our countries,” Ghani told the media. He acknowledged that Prime Minister Khan came to Kabul with an “important message to help end violence”.

He said enduring peace within the framework of joint cooperation was important to lead towards a comprehensive ceasefire, adding: “All of us need to understand that violence is not an answer, but an inclusive politics.”

With Khan’s visit, Ghani said a “foundation of trust is established today” to continue the journey towards sustainable peace. He announced that he will visit Pakistan in near future on the invitation of Prime Minister Khan. Ghani mentioned that during his meeting with Khan, the two sides agreed that the respect for Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) happens to be in the hearts and minds of every Muslim and stressed that the world must differentiate between the “negative comments” from the freedom of expressiona