Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated in a press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday that achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interests.
The Pakistani prime minister was speaking at a joint press conference alongside Afghan president Hamid Karzai during his one-day visit as part of efforts to revive Afghanistan's peace process before NATO troops withdraw next year. Sharif reiterated that Islamabad desires friendly and good neighborly relations with Afghanistan based on mutual trust‚ respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said that the recent release of a senior Taliban leader Mullah Baradar shows that Pakistan is committed to helping bring peace to Afghanistan.
The premier said that an agreement had been reached with President Karzai for a mechanism to allow members of an Afghan peace council to continue talks with Mullah Baradar, who was released from Pakistani detention last September. He did not provide details. When asked by a reporter about allowing US troops to stay in Afghanistan, Sharif replied that Afghanistan is a sovereign state and that it would have to take a decision on its own. We stand by Afghanistan and will continue to do so in the future, he said.
I have always placed a central emphasis on building a strong trade and economic partnership. Today we review the progress being made in advancing that goal and in developing a comprehensive multidimensional relationship that serves the long-term interests of our two peoples, Hamid Karzai stated addressing the economic ties between the two countries.
