Afghan President, PM Imran discusses Afghan peace process

ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called Prime Minister Imran Khan today (Monday) and extended felicitations on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

According to a statement issued by the PM Office, both leaders discussed various issues including the Afghan peace process. PM Imran expressed hope that the next phase of the Afghan peace process would start soon, leading to the peaceful end of the lingering conflict in the war-ravaged country.

The Prime Minister also highlighted Pakistan’s positive contribution to the peace process, and strongly stressed that peace in Afghanistan is of paramount importance.

He further expressed the hope that the current momentum would be further built to implement the US-Taliban Peace Agreement in its entirety leading to Intra-Afghan negotiations at the earliest.

Referring to the various institutional mechanisms between the two countries, PM Imran highlighted the importance of working together to further strengthen bilateral relations.

In this regard, PM Imran said that Pakistan looks forward to the next Session of Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) at the earliest.

He commiserated with President Ghani on the loss of lives in Afghanistan due to coronavirus and expressed the hope that pandemic would be successfully contained.

The premier also informed Afghan President of the government’s strategy against COVID-19 in Pakistan, which emphasis on saving lives, securing livelihoods and stimulating economy.

The intra-Afghan dialogue is expected to resume soon as the Afghan government and Taliban have almost completed the prisoners’ swap.