Aziz lands in Kabul for tension-defusing talks

KABUL (Pajhwok): Pakistani Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz arrived in Kabul on Sunday for talks with President Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.

At the Kabul International Airport, Aziz was warmly received by his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Hanif Atmar, a spokesman for the Pakistan Embassy told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Akhtar Munir Khan said the visiting advisor went straight from the airport to the Presidential Palace for talks with Ahmadzai and Atmar. As a special envoy of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Aziz will invite the Afghan president to visit Pakistan.

The visit’s timing and preparations, as well as issues of bilateral interest, are expected to figure at the meetings. On Sept. 29, President Mamnoon Hussain had also invited Ahmadzai to visit Pakistan.

According to another embassy official, the visit is part of Pakistan’s substantive engagement with the new Afghan president. He said there was a serious desire on both sides for tension-free relations.

Islamabad wanted enhanced cooperative relations with Kabul in all spheres, a desire reciprocated by Ahmadzai administration, he said, adding the neighbours would go flat out to defuse tensions.

mud

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