ISLAMABAD: The head of Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, will soon visit Pakistan with a view to improve bilateral relations, and to boost efforts for restoration of peace in the war-torn Afghanistan.
Diplomatic sources said the visit by the high Afghan authority will take place on mutually convenient dates, as the two sides are in contact at diplomatic level to firm up the dates for the visit.
Pakistan's special representative on Afghanistan Ambassador (retd) Muhammad Sadiq stated in a tweet on Sunday night that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had extended an invitation to Dr Abdullah to visit Pakistan.
He also stated that Pakistan and Afghanistan relations are moving forward.
Dr Abdullah also confirmed this after a meeting with Pakistan's Ambassador in Kabul Nasrullah Khan, saying he is thankful for being extended the official invitation to visit Pakistan at an "opportune time".
"...We discussed the peace process and regional engagements toward a comprehensive settlement. I thanked him for the official invitation extended to visit Pakistan at an opportune time,"
Abdullah stated in a tweet after a meeting with Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul.
The latest progress in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations comes in the wake of visit by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa along with Director General, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Faiz Hameed and Ambassador (retd) Sadiq on 9th June, 2020, where they held a wide ranging talks with President Ashraf Ghani and Dr Abdullah.
The visit was followed by re-opening of three major border crossings, Torkham, Chaman, and Ghulam Khan, at the request of Kabul, to ease transit and bilateral trade activities, which were earlier closed down due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Pakistan has also announced to open two more Afghan border crossings, Kharlachi and Angor Adda, on July 12 to further enhance the bilateral trade.
The visit of Dr Abdullah, according to the diplomatic sources, will primarily focus on the Afghan peace process, which is now entering a crucial stage of holding the intra-Afghan negotiations.
They hoped that the visit all also help address the trust deficit between the two countries, and also pave the way for enhancing the bilateral ties as well as an early convening of the next session of Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS).
Established in May 2018, the APAPPS is a forum to provide a comprehensive and structured framework for institutional engagement in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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