Pakistan, Afghanistan pursuing peace: Commission Constituted

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Saturday agreed on formation of a 'joint commission' to carry forward the reconciliation process, following the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who held exhaustive talks here at the Presidential Palace, described the parleys as "historic", saying that "the two countries stand together as they have shared destinies".
Prime Minister Gilani said that he, in consultations with President Karzai, Burhanuddin Rabbani and members of the High Peace Council, had agreed to establish the two-tier 'Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission' for facilitating and promoting reconciliation and peace.
The first tier of the Commission will include the chief executives, foreign ministers along with chiefs of the military and intelligence services of the two countries while the second tier will comprise senior officials of foreign ministries, military and intelligence services. "I have assured President Karzai that Pakistan strongly supports an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process for reconciliation and peace," Gilani said.
He also extended Pakistan's full support to the efforts of President Karzai and the High Peace Council, for initiating an inclusive process of grand national reconciliation in which all Afghans not only have a stake but the process also promises the future peace and stability in their country. "We firmly believe that this process must have full Afghan ownership," Gilani said and added that it was for the Afghan nation to determine the parameters on which a reconciliation and peace process would be shaped. "Conditions, qualifications or demands at this stage, in our view, may not be helpful," he added.
He said that the restoration of stability and peace in Afghanistan was essential for peace, security and wellbeing of the people of Pakistan. President Zardari's recent statement wherein he warned that a destabilised Afghanistan could have a negative impact on Pakistan, Gilani said he fully endorsed the views. He said his visit was particularly aimed at working out a common strategy to jointly fight terrorism that was a threat to both nations.
Asked whether the United States (US) was on board regarding the Pak-Afghan talks, the Prime Minister said: "The US is on board. That's our core group and whatever will be decided will be among Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US." President Karzai, speaking about 'tripartite' arrangement, said that his country welcomed consultations with the United States in this regard.
He said that Pakistan's role as a facilitator was also important and added that whatever Prime Minister Gilani said was a "fundamental shift" of Pakistan from its views in the past. "We today have clarity, which never existed earlier," Karzai added.
About al Qaeda's presence in Pakistan, Gilani said: "It is your country's problem and you have to decide and set parameters." About the role of the United States in Afghanistan, the Prime Minister said: "Whatever is the policy of the US on Afghanistan, Pakistan will support Afghanistan." Gilani also strongly dispelled the notion that terrorists were entering Afghanistan from Pakistan and said that the two countries were already interacting at political, intelligence and defence levels and this co-operation would enhance in the days ahead.
Gilani said that he held in-depth consultations with President Karzai on the situation prevailing in the region and the various initiatives being talked about for promoting reconciliation and peace. "I would like to laud the efforts of our Afghan brothers and sisters across length and breadth of Afghanistan to realise their legitimate aspirations for peace and stability."
President Karzai described the message from Prime Minister Gilani on the reconciliation process as very "clear" and "important" and added that the two sides held detailed talks on all aspects, including the situation in the region and bilateral political, economic and trade relations. Gilani termed the drone attacks as "counter-productive" and added that loss of precious human lives could not be just dismissed as "collateral damage".
Similarly, he said, suicide attacks were resulting in loss of innocent lives as well as a tacks on places of worship, were not only inhuman and barbaric but evidently designed to denigrate Islam and to sow discord among Muslims, communities and societies.
Prime Minister Gilani said his visit to Afghanistan was aimed at reaching out to the Afghani people. He said in his opening remarks that he was here to convey respect and admiration for the great Afghan nation and to renew "deep-rooted bonds of fraternal solidarity."
He recalled his conversation with President Karzai and said he particularly mentioned that "friendship with Afghanistan is a cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy... This friendship is age-old, timeless and abiding." Gilani said the two countries were connected by geography, shared faith, culture and traditions. "But it is more than that. Friendship with Afghanistan is in our blood. A sense of shared destiny beckons us to join hands in not only overcoming the immediate issues but also in forging and marching 'in step' towards realising a peaceful and prosperous future for our peoples."
The Prime Minister said that the two sides have agreed to give high priority and to work jointly on the development track. "This means optimally utilising our natural economic complementaries and that of the region as a whole, for socio-economic development and prosperity." Gilani said that given the enormous resources--both human and natural--the collective economic potential of the two countries was phenomenal. "Together, we will, Insha Allah, write a new chapter of progress, prosperity, stability and peace in our region," he added.
He said that several important mega projects, including trans-regional projects, such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline; building of electricity transmission lines; enhancing physical connectivity by building or upgrading requisite infrastructure, as well as expediting the implementation mechanisms for the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, needed to be fast-tracked. Gilani said it was Pakistan's considered view that only by working a social and economic transformation the two peoples would be able to realise the legitimate aspirations for stability, peace and prosperity.