KABUL, Dec 22: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri met Afghan President Hamid Karzai here on Sunday and reiterated Pakistan’s support for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan.

The minister conveyed messages and greetings of President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali to Chairman Karzai.

The meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the day-long conference on good relations between Afghanistan and its six immediate neighbours, reviewed the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Kasuri represented Pakistan at the moot, which was also attended by China, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Representatives from the G-8 countries, the European Union, OIC, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UN’s special envoy on Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi also witnessed the signing of declaration on “Good Neighbourly Relations”.

The minister reassured President Karzai that Pakistan would provide every assistance the Afghan government needed for its reconstruction and rehabilitation. He said Pakistan “desires close and brotherly relations with Afghanistan.”

Chairman Karzai reciprocated the sentiments and thanked the minister for Pakistan’s assistance in rebuilding the war-ravaged country.

The meeting, held at the Presidential Palace, also discussed the issue of Pakistani prisoners detained in Afghan jails. The Afghan president assured all support on the issue and said efforts were being made for their early release.

Chairman Karzai again emphasised that Afghanistan “desires very close and brotherly relations with Pakistan.”

Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan and other officials from the two sides attended the meeting.—APP