Hekmatyar due on three-day visit today
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ISLAMABAD: Veteran Afghan politician and Hezb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar will arrive here on Monday on a three-day visit to Pakistan.
During the visit, the Afghan leader will meet President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He will also meet Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and others.
He will speak at a programme of a policy think-tank and also interact with media.
“The visit of Mr Gulbuddin Hekmatyar will provide an opportunity for exchange of views on the Afghan peace process and strengthening of Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations as well as people-to-people interaction,” the Foreign Office said in a statement issued here on Sunday.
The FO said that Pakistan attached great importance to its fraternal relations with Afghanistan rooted deep in shared history, faith, culture, values and traditions. Pakistan fully supports all efforts for peace, stability and prosperity of Afghan people.
Pakistan has consistently supported an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.
Mr Hekmatyar, who twice served as Afghan prime minister in 1990s, had recently said that India, due to its rivalry with Pakistan, was dissatisfied with the peace process in Afghanistan and it had started supporting local militias to act as spoilers of the peace process.
“China and Pakistan have a common and coordinated position on Afghanistan and not only do they support the peace process, rather they see it as beneficial for their regional interests, especially if it leads to reduction in India’s presence in Afghanistan,” the Afghan leader said.
Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2020
