Afghan President Karzai Telephones Pakistani President Musharraf
'Pakistan Times' Wire Service

ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai telephoned President General Pervez Musharraf on Friday evening and invited him to attend the closing session of the Joint Peace Jirga.

President Karzai said that the President’s personal participation would be a source of support and encouragement for the Jirga process, says a foreign office statement issued here.

According to the statement, President Musharraf agreed in principle to address the closing session of the Joint Peace Jirga.

Meanwhile, a report from Washington says that the United States has welcomed President Pervez Musharraf’s agreement on addressing the closing session of the joint peace Jirga in Kabul at the invitation of his Afghan counterpart, acknowledging that Pakistan’s high level participation clearly signifies the South Asian ally’s support for the process.

“We are pleased to hear that President Musharraf has accepted in principle President Karzai’s invitation to address the closing session of the Joint Peace Jirga in Afghanistan,” a State Department official said when asked to comment on the subject.

The official stated that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the Pakistani delegation’s participation in the Jirga has clearly demonstrated Pakistan’s support for cooperation and resolution of the security problems along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

“President Musharraf’s attendance at the closing meetings would underscore Pakistan’s commitment to the Joint Peace Jirga dialogue,” the official observed while referring to the trilateral meeting of leaders September last year.

The United States is pleased that so many tribal leaders from Pakistan and Afghanistan are gathering together in the face of extremism to advance peace, exchange ideas, and to advance efforts to combat a common enemy, the State Department official said.●