ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday underlined the need of a credible political process owned and led by Afghanistan for an internal settlement.
During the first round of informal consultations held in Islamabad at the level of director generals of the ministries of foreign affairs, the two sides said that there was no military solution to the prolonged Afghan conflict, a Pakistan’s Foreign Office statement said.
In the consultations, the Pakistani delegation was led by Director General (Afghanistan) Mansoor Ahmad Khan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while the Iranian side was led by Director General Rasoul Eslami of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is on an official visit to Islamabad for the consultations.
The ways for deepening regional economic cooperation and enhancing connectivity between the countries of the region were also discussed.
The two directors general reaffirmed their commitment and support to the efforts of Afghanistan and international community to achieving lasting peace, stability and progress in Afghanistan. Pakistan delegation stated that it attached importance to engagement with Afghanistan in political, security, economic and people-to-people interaction to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.a
They emphasised the need of concerted efforts and cooperation among all states in counter-terrorism, border management and combating production and trafficking of narcotics. The two sides also underscored importance of dignified return and resettlement of refugees in Afghanistan. This was the first round of bilateral consultations with Iran on regional peace and security with focus on the situation in Afghanistan.
Published in Daily Times, November 2nd 2017.
