The British government has offered its good offices to resolve differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid mounting tension, by hosting high authorities of the two countries in London on Wednesday (today). Diplomatic sources toldBusiness Recorder that the British government will host Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar in London to discuss the ongoing stalemate in bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The high-level meeting of Pakistan and Afghanistan will also be attended by British National Security Advisor Mark Lyall Grant, besides other officials from the two countries including Afghanistan Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Omar Zakhilwal.
They said that the meeting will focus on a mechanism for genuine Pakistan-Afghanistan cooperation on fighting terrorism, the current tense bilateral relations and the closure of border crossings between the two countries that has brought the two-way trade to a halt.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan became strained following the recent wave of terror attacks across Pakistan, responsibilities for which was claimed by an Afghanistan based terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a splinter group of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It was followed by exchange of lists of the most wanted terrorists by both countries, as Pakistan summoned Afghan diplomats to GHQ and Afghanistan summoned Pakistan ambassador to Kabul at Ministry of Defence by the deputy chief of army staff.
On February 16, 2017, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa ordered closure of the border crossings hours after militants struck Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's shrine in Sehwan Sharif, killing at least 90 people and injuring more than 100 others. Since then the border crossings between the two countries have been closed for all kinds of communication. However, Pakistan opened the border crossings at Torkham and Chaman only for two days on March 7-8 to facilitate the stranded citizens of the two countries who were in each other countries on valid visas.
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