Hamid Karzai
Afghan President Hamid Karzai. — Photo AFP

ISLAMABAD: A Foreign Office spokesman on Monday said that Pakistan desired good neighbourly relations with Afghanistan on the basis of mutual respect and interest.

The spokesman was responding to a question regarding media reports about Afghan President Hamid Karzai's recent assertions that conditionalities will be attached to negotiations on a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Pakistan.

He said that the comments reportedly made by President Karzai and certain other quarters in Afghanistan in this regard were entirely misplaced and without any basis.

The spokesman clarified that the proposed Strategic Partnership Agreement was suggested by President Karzai during the Trilateral Summit in New York.

The same was also reflected in the press release dated September 29, 2012 issued from New York, he added.

Referring to the allegations against Pakistan, the spokesman said that Pakistan had invested heavily both in terms of human and economic losses to promote stability in Afghanistan.

He, however, underscored that Pakistan would like to have a mature and responsible dialogue with Afghanistan, but diplomacy through media needed to be avoided.

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