Pakistan, Afghanistan sign five agreements to boost ties
Pakistan Times Staff Reportt

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have expressed the confidence that bilateral relations between the two countries would further boost in the coming time.

They were talking to newsmen after official talks at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad Wednesday.

Shaukat Aziz said both the countries enjoy deep rooted friendly relations and hoped that these relations would be further strengthened with the visit of Afghan President.

He hoped that trade relations between the two countries would be further improved and Pakistani investment in Afghanistan will enhance.

The Prime Minister said they discussed host of issues with the visiting Afghan President including bilateral and regional issues.

The Prime Minister said besides other issues gas pipeline issue between Pakistan and Turkmenistan also came under discussion and it was decided that Afghanistan will provide corridor for this project.

Economic Cooperation Organization

He said Pakistan also intends to energise the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and it sees a vital role for Afghanistan in this regard.

The Afghan President speaking on the occasion said relations between the two countries are moving in positive direction.

He stressed the need to expedite efforts to further strengthen bilateral ties. He hoped that cooperation between the two countries in various fields will be enhanced manifold as a result of his visit to Pakistan.

The Accords

Five agreements were signed between Pakistan and Afghan to increase bilateral relations in various fields. These agreements include launching of bus service between Peshawar and Jalalabad, bus service between Quetta and Qandahar, cultural, tourism and media cooperation between the two countries. Both the countries also signed a protocol to enhance regular consultations between the foreign Ministries.

Earlier, the two sides held official talks in which various issues of mutual interest and regional situation were discussed. Both the sides agreed to enhance cooperation in various fields to increase people to people contact and increase trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Both the sides also discussed ways and means to control drug trafficking to overcome this menace.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and President Hamid Karzai also held one on one meeting before official talks.

The agreements on the bus service relate to starting bus service between Peshawar and Jalalabad and Quetta and Kandahar.

They also signed a protocol on regular consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, which were signed by Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri and his counterpart Abdullah Abdullah.

The agreements from the Pakistan side were signed by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Culture Minister Muhammad Ajmal Khan and Toursim Minister Dr Ghazi Gulab Jamal and their Afghan counterparts.

President Hamid Karzai is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan. This was his fourth bilateral visit. He earlier held talks with President General Pervez Musharraf.

Visit by Karzai

President Karzai’s visit, coinciding with the 65th anniversary of Pakistan Resolution, is reflective of the close brotherly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a foreign office statement said.

The two counties have a trade volume of around US One billion dollars. Pakistan has taken a number of measures to further increase trade and established a third border crossing at Ghulam Khan in Waziristan. It has set up nine additional custom Stations in border areas and reduced duty on import of Afghan fruits.

For enhancing Afghan transit trade, port charges for Afghan goods have been reduced by 50 per cent and railway charges by 25 per cent.

NLC has also been authorized to transport Afghan transit goods while Port Qasim has been declared an additional entry point for Afghan goods.

Infrastructure facilities are also being upgraded to promote transit trade.

Pakistan is actively participating in Afghan reconstruction and of the US $ 100 million dollars pledged by Pakistan for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, US 43.36 million dollars have already been utilized.

The projects undertaken by Pakistan include rehabilitation of Torkham-Jalalabad Road, establishment of hospitals in Kabul, Jalalabad and Logar as well as faculty blocs in Kabul and Jalalabad Universities.

Pakistan has also given two radio transmitters to the Afghan Government and would donate 100 buses shortly. Pakistan donated 200 trucks last year.●