Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar meets Afghanistan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin at the foreign office in Islamabad on Friday. – Photo by PPI

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Friday said that Pakistan has an abiding interest in stability in Afghanistan and our leadership is committed to strengthening relations with that country.

Talking to Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin, who along with his delegation called on her, she said that Pakistan would be supportive of any political solution for peace in Afghanistan that is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.

She reiterated Pakistan's interest in extension of transit trade arrangements to the Central Asian nations bordering Afghanistan.

Other members of the Afghan delegation were Masoom Stanakzai, Head of High Peace Council Secretariat, Ambassador Umer Daudzai and others.

Khar was assisted by Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani and Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq. Both sides discussed political and economic issues of mutual interest and matters relating to the trilateral Core Group of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US.

The Afghan deputy foreign minister thanked Pakistan for its support to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and appreciated Prime Minister Gilani's statement of 24th February in this regard. Both sides agreed that Pak-Afghan relations are moving in the right direction.

Opinion

Editorial

IMF’s unease
Updated 24 May, 2024

IMF’s unease

It is clear that the next phase of economic stabilisation will be very tough for most of the population.
Belated recognition
24 May, 2024

Belated recognition

WITH Wednesday’s announcement by three European states that they intend to recognise Palestine as a state later...
App for GBV survivors
24 May, 2024

App for GBV survivors

GENDER-based violence is caught between two worlds: one sees it as a crime, the other as ‘convention’. The ...
Energy inflation
Updated 23 May, 2024

Energy inflation

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots is already tearing apart Pakistan’s social fabric.
Culture of violence
23 May, 2024

Culture of violence

WHILE political differences are part of the democratic process, there can be no justification for such disagreements...
Flooding threats
23 May, 2024

Flooding threats

WITH temperatures in GB and KP forecasted to be four to six degrees higher than normal this week, the threat of...