ISLAMABAD (SW): Pakistan rolled red carpet for the co-host Afghan President Mohamamd Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday for a two-day regional conference aimed at encouraging security, political, and economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbours.
The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HAIP 2015) Conference would see some 14-nation including India, China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the UAE ponder for two days over prospects for various economic projects to realize the dream of stronger integration in the region. Stability in Afghanistan is vital to see energy-starved South Asia to access the energy-rich Central Asian states.
On his arrival, Afghan President was greeted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the army, air and navy chiefs as well a number of ministers and was given 21-gun salute. Addressing the opening ceremony, Ghani said Pakistan and Afghanistan should get over the blame game and suggest mechanisms of verification.
Following string of terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital in August -for which the Pakistan was blamed- Ghani harshly criticized Pakistan and cut-off ties with Islamabad.
In his speech at the HAIP 2015 Conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, Ghani said Afghanistan’s neighbors must realize using not state actors as policy tool was detrimental for whole region. “State-to-state, political-to-political, military-to-military, economic-to-economic and intelligence-to-intelligence cooperation are central to the Pak-Afghan relationship, he said.
On his part, Prime Minister Sharif said Afghanistan is a sovereign state and the international community fully respects its sovereignty and territorial integrity. "The enemies of Afghanistan are the enemies of Pakistan."
Together with China and the U.S., Pakistan played instrumental role in facilitating the first round of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government earlier this year. The second round that was scheduled for the end of July, collapsed due to the revelation of news about Mullah Omar’s death and Kabul levelling allegations against Islamabad for the terrorist attacks in August.
Sharif said in his speech on Wednesday, Pakistan would continue to support an Afghan-owned and led peace and reconciliation process. The prime minister said Pakistan was committed to eradicating terrorism, violence and extremism from its soil.
Another salient feature of this regional conference was the participation of Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj. She urged Pakistan to allow Afghan trucks carry Indian products via Pakistan to the markets in Afghanistan. At the moment, under Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement APTTA, Afghan goods carriers are only allowed to supply their products to the Indian border with Pakistan but return empty.
“The heart of Asia cannot function if arteries are clogged”, Swaraj said in clear reference to this restriction. India and Iran have joined hands to establish the Charbahar port in Iran that provides Afghanistan an alternate route to do trade with India.
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