40,000 tons of wheat gifted to Afghanistan

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in a goodwill gesture on Friday, announced the waiver of additional regulatory duty on Afghan exports to Pakistan to help lift the economy of war-torn Afghanistan, besides gifting 40,000 tons of wheat for the Afghan people, the Foreign Office said.
The announcement comes following a meeting of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul during his day-long visit in which the two leaders also urged the Taliban to join peace process without further delay. The Prime Minister in his visit on the invitation of President Ghani was accompanied by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and National Security Adviser Lieutenant-General Nasser Khan Janjua (retd). President Ghani and Prime Minister Abbasi held a one-on-one meeting followed by delegation-level talks at the Afghan Presidential Palace. However, the two sides issued press releases separately at the conclusion of the visit.
"President Ghani and Prime Minister Abbasi discussed the entire gamut of Pak-Afghan relations including peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, return of Afghan refugees, bilateral trade and regional connectivity," the Foreign Office of Pakistan said in a press release issued here.
It stated that Prime Minister Abbasi welcomed President Ghani's vision for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and his offer of peace talks to Taliban. "Both leaders called on the Taliban to respond positively to the peace offer and join the peace process without further delay," it stated, adding that they agreed that there is no military solution to the ongoing Afghan conflict and that the political solution is the best way forward.
The two leaders agreed that Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) provided a useful framework for broad based and structured engagement on all issues of mutual interest and decided to operationalize the five working groups under APAPPS. The two leaders reiterated that terrorism is a common enemy and threat. They agreed not to allow their soils to be used for anti-state activities against each other.
Both the leaders agreed that peace, prosperity and stability of the two countries are interlinked. They reaffirmed their resolve to work together to address all issues of bilateral and transit trade. They also expressed their firm resolve not to allow politics to affect their economic relationship which is important for the welfare of the peoples of the two countries.
The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to regional connectivity as they had done in Herat on 23rd February 2018 while jointly inaugurating the entry of TAPI Gas Pipeline from Turkmenistan into Afghanistan. They agreed to hold an early meeting of the Joint Economic Commission to take forward planning and implementation of key rail, road, gas pipeline and energy projects that would integrate Pakistan and Afghanistan with Central Asia.
The Prime Minister and Afghan President also agreed to move forward on Chaman-Kandahar-Herat railway line, Peshawar-Kabul motorway, and other connectivity projects which can help realize the tremendous potential of South and Central Asian regions by providing shortest access through the sea ports of Gwadar and Karachi. They emphasized early completion of TAPI and CASA-1000 projects, it added.
The Prime Minister announced a gift of 40,000 tons of wheat for the Afghan people, it stated, adding that Prime Minister Abbasi also announced a waiver of additional regulatory duty on Afghan exports to Pakistan to help lift the Afghan economy. The two sides also agreed to initiate discussions on consular matters and exchange of civilian prisoners, it added.
President Ghani and Prime Minister Abbasi reaffirmed their resolve to build trust and confidence between the two countries by working closely for peace, prosperity and stability in their countries. The two leaders agreed to continue the exchange of high-level visits. The Prime Minister also met Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah. Both leaders discussed the entire range of bilateral matters and agreed on regular leadership contacts.
Prime Minister Abbasi extended invitations to President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to visit Islamabad at their earliest convenience. The Prime Minister met with senior political leaders including Gulbadin Hekmatyar, Ustad Mohammad Mohaqiq, Ustad Mohammad Karim Khalili and Pir Sayed Hamed Gailani, to convey the support of the government and people of Pakistan to all ethnic groups in Afghanistan and underscore Pakistan's commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a separate press release, sharing the "key principles" to finalize APAPPS agreed upon during the meeting of the President Ghani and Prime Minister Abbasi. It stated that the two sides agreed on the following key principles to finalize Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS):
(i) Pakistan will support the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation.
(ii) The two countries will undertake effective actions against fugitives and the irreconcilable elements posing security threats to either of the two countries.
(iii) Both countries commit to deny use of their respective territories by any country, network, group or individuals for anti-state activities against either country.
(iv) The two countries commit to put in place a joint supervision, coordination and confirmation mechanism through liaison officers (LOs) for the realization of the agreed actions,
(v) The two countries commit to avoid territorial and aerial violations of each other's territory.
(vi) The two countries will avoid public blame games and instead use APAPPS cooperation mechanisms to respond to mutual issues of contention and concerns.
(vii) The two countries will establish working groups and necessary cooperation mechanisms as per APAPPS for full implementation of the APAPPS and the above mutually reinforcing principles.
The visit comes a day earlier Afghanistan blamed Pakistan for violating its air space and conducted air strikes inside Dangam district of Kunar province and warned that "continuing such violations of international norms and that of good neighborliness will have further consequences on the relations between the two countries."
The Foreign Office, however, rejected the Afghan allegations as baseless. "Pakistan rejected the baseless Afghan allegations of violation of its airspace and air raids inside Afghan territory by Pakistan Air Force...Pakistani security forces are undertaking counter-terrorism operations in Bajaur Agency directed against terrorist groups which continue to attack Pakistan from their sanctuaries based on Afghan soil that have resulted in loss of lives and injuries on the Pakistani side," the Foreign Office said in a late night statement on Thursday.
It insisted that information about the ongoing counterterrorism operations is shared with the Afghan security forces on a regular basis. In the meeting of the Directors General Military Operations of the two countries held in Rawalpindi on Thursday, Pakistan shared details of the operations with the Afghan side indicating that these operations were on the Pakistani side of the border, the Foreign Office further stated.
"Pakistan urges Afghanistan to focus on taking effective counterterrorism actions including plugging of large gaps existing along the Afghan side of Pakistan-Afghanistan border to prevent the targeting of Pakistani civilians and security forces by terrorists from Afghan soil," it stated, adding that it is also important that the Afghan government should refrain from blame game.
"Instead there is a need to work together to combat terrorism and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation for shared progress and prosperity of the peoples of the two countries," it added.