Commenting on speculative media reports on the meeting between Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the Foreign Office on Saturday said that this bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit in Maldives was held in a cordial atmosphere and provided a good opportunity for a frank and in depth exchange of views.
In a statement, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that Prime Minister Gilani recounted Pakistan’s consistent efforts to have the best of relations with Afghanistan and several initiatives taken in this regard. Pakistan supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation and peace and would continue to work constructively for strengthening friendly relations with Afghanistan, he said.
On matters relating to reconciliation and peace, the prime minister said that it was for Afghanistan to specify and lead the process. Former Afghan president Professor Rabbani’s tragic assassination constituted a setback to the process. Professor Rabbani was highly respected and a good friend of Pakistan, the prime minister said.
President Karzai affirmed the importance that Afghanistan attached to its relations with Pakistan. Both sides agreed that the decisions reached at the recent Istanbul Trilateral Summit should be implemented. Pakistan had always demonstrated goodwill towards Afghanistan and believed that reinvigoration of a cooperative approach was important.
The spokesperson said that the Maldives bilateral meeting was a step in that direction.
