KABUL:
General Raheel Shareef claimed that Pakistan will treat Afghanistan’s enemies as its own and vice versa in a meeting with Afghan officials, a local media outlet reported.
Both sides gave each other a mutual solemn pledge to this effect at a high level meeting between the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif and Afghan military and civilian leaders.
“Afghanistan’s enemy will be treated as Pakistan’s enemy while Pakistan’s enemies will be treated as Afghanistan’s enemies,” head of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj General Asim Saleem Bajwa said in a tweet.
On Tuesday Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the army chief were in Kabul.
“PM & COAS leave 4 Kabul with civil-military delegation. An unprecedented delegation filled with optimism for common peace & development with our brothers”, Bajwa said in a subsequent Twitter post.
Pakistani executives were accorded a heartwarming reception in Kabul, where several important meetings were held.
“Foreign, finance ministers of Afghanistan received the Pakistani delegation at Kabul airport with brotherly warmth. They were given a guard of honour at the presidential palace. PM & COAS held talks with Afghan counterparts. Delegation level meetings underway,” the ISPR chief tweeted.
One of the highlights of the meeting was a principled agreement to re-launch construction work on dualisation of the 75km Torkham-Jalalabad road, a project that will go a long way in enhancing the bilateral trade and economic relations between the two states.
“In Kabul, COAS directed (Frontier Works Organization (FWO) to start construction of Torkham- Jalalabad Dual Carriageway (a long suspended project). The work will commence within a week,” the Bajwa tweeted.
Moreover, during the meeting, the army chief also extended full support to Afghan reconciliation process.
“Kabul: Salient points of the joint stakeout are full support for Afghan-owned, Afghan-led peace, reconciliation. The COAS assured the Afghan leadership of making all efforts in this regards,” said another tweet posted by the DG ISPR.
The COAS also laid out a guideline for Pakistan-Afghanistan terms of engagement.
“We will strictly adhere to the policy of non interference. Will never let any third party use their (Pakistan, Afghanistan) territories against each other,” said he in a tweet.
