ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has offered to help Afghan parliamentarians and parliamentary officials to enhance their capacity through the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services.

An important breakthrough in bilateral relations took place when Mr Qaiser met his Afghan counterpart Rahman Rahmani on the margins of the 141st assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Belgrade, said a press release received here on Monday.

The two sides decided to hold bilateral talks at the parliamentary level to promote cooperation and understanding as well as to evolve trust-based strategy for fostering people-to-people contacts.

The Afghan speaker appreciated the efforts of the government and parliament of Pakistan for improving the state-of-affairs between the two countries.

He also lauded the initiatives of Prime Minister Imran Khan in expanding the scope of cooperation by opening up the Torkham Border for 24/7 trade operations.

Mr Qaiser extended an invitation to Mr Rahmani for leading a parliamentary delegation to Pakistan to discuss the outstanding bilateral issues, including relaxation in visa regime as well as expansion of trade and commerce between the two countries.

While informing the Afghan delegation about the Indian brutalities in held Kashmir, Asad Qaiser also urged the Afghan speaker to play his role in normalising the situation in the valley, which was under siege for 72 days.

The maiden meeting between the two speakers proved instrumental in paving the way for continued cooperation through parliamentary platforms.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2019