ISLAMABAD: Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong met Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday and appreciated the army’s contributions to peace and stability in the region. Weidong met the COAS to bid farewell at the end of his tenure in Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday.
Matters of mutual interest, including regional security issues, were discussed during the meeting, the statement added. The visiting dignitary pledged to keep working for better relations between the two friendly countries. Gen Bajwa thanked the ambassador for his contributions, saying Pakistan would continue to strive towards a more interconnected and interdependent region as against a security-centric paradigm.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday that Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa is expected to visit Afghanistan this week for talks on counter-terrorism efforts and measures to involve the Afghan Taliban in peace talks. The ministry said he would hold talks with senior Afghan officials, while peace talks with the Taliban would be among the issues to be discussed during the visit. “The Afghan government will reiterate its call to Pakistan to act against terrorist hideouts and safe havens in Pakistani territory,” Defence Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told the media. “We will ask Pakistan to act honestly, otherwise these trips will not have results,” Waziri said. A number of Afghan lawmakers have called on officials to provide the Pakistani side with “solid evidence” of Islamabad’s support to the Taliban.
They said the Afghan government should pressure Pakistan to abide by its commitment to fight terrorism. “Pakistan should be asked to hand over the leadership of the Afghan Taliban to the Afghan government and act solidly for the elimination of terrorist hideouts,” MP Fatima Aziz told Tolo News channel. “The Afghan government should hand over all evidence to the Pakistani side and categorically tell them this action is no longer acceptable to us,” said MP Abdul Hai Akhundzada. Bajwa’s visit comes ahead of his trip to Russia, which is also scheduled to hold a meeting of delegates from 50 countries to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan.
Published in Daily Times, September 27th 2017.
