ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar participated in the meeting on Afghanistan held in Jeddah on Thursday, said a Foreign Office statement here on Friday. Earlier, Pakistani government citing its ‘principled objections’ to the Af-Pak concept, had refrained from joining sessions held by the International Contact Group.
“Pakistan was given a clear understanding that this meeting in Jeddah had been convened as a result of a request by the Afghan Government to the OIC Secretary General, who had kindly offered to host the event at the OIC premises,” the statement said. Hina Rabbani Khar underscored need for promoting stability and peace in Afghanistan.
“To promote this objective, it was imperative that all countries, especially the immediate neighbours and those in the wider region, pledged themselves to respect the principles of non-interference and non-intervention as well as respect for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity,” she said. She also stressed importance of Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process of national reconciliation.
She said, “Pakistan supports efforts of President Hamid Karzai and his Government as well as those of the High Peace Council led by Professor Burhannuddin Rabbani to promote reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan.”
