khar-aghan-ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday vowed to jointly tackle extremism, terrorism and illegal narco trade and to expand the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) to Tajikistan in next few months.

 

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Afghan counterpart Dr. Zalmai Rassoul, who was here on a day-long visit, addressing a joint press conference after a round of extensive bilateral talks, said that the two countries were committed to further strengthen the whole gamut of their ties.

 

The two sides termed the talks "frank and candid" that covered all aspects of their relationship.

 

Hina Khar termed terrorism and narco-trade "common challenges".

 

"We can fight these together as a common enemy," she said and added "we are on our way to deal with it as such."

 

Dr. Zalmai Rassoul shared her views and said "The two countries need to move away from the legacy of the past and move towards an honest, result-oriented relationship."

 

He said that the multifaceted relationship between the two countries was very important for both and was vital for the stability and peace in the region.

 

Rassoul said that the regional countries also needed to support the ongoing peace process as it was a pre-requisite for regional peace.

 

Foreign Minister Khar said that Kabul and Islamabad were connected with each other in more than one way and apart from strong people-to- people contacts and historical ties, the two countries also had a bilateral trade of US 2.5 billion dollars, that in reality went to over US 5 billion dollars.

 

She said that the APTTA had a bright future and Pakistan and other regional countries could use Afghanistan as a transit route for trade with the Central Asian Republics, and added it would be a win-win situation for both the countries.

 

Hina Khar said that Pakistan fully supported the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, was playing the role of a facilitator and would pursue whatever the Afghans choose for themselves.

 

She termed the visit of Afghan Foreign Minister start of a new journey and said that the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the two countries could have a very positive impact, as it would help the two countries have a better institutional arrangement.

 

Rassoul said that Pakistan had an important role to play for peace and stability in Afghanistan. He said that dialogue must continue for the peace process to succeed.

 

Hina Khar said that Afghanistan was the only country that was getting development assistance from Pakistan and hoped it would be expanded.

 

She mentioned the 7000 scholarships, which Pakistan was already providing for the Afghan students and expressed confidence that it would help further strengthen their ties in the days ahead.

 

Foreign Minister Khar said that Pakistan fully supported the Ulema conference to be held in Kabul in January next.

 

The Afghan Foreign Minister appreciated the recent release of a number of Taliban leaders by Pakistan, while Hina Khar termed the recent visit of Afghan High Peace Council "fruitful".

 

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2012

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