'Political Solution Of Afghan Issue Vital For Not Only Afghan People But Entire Region'

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Jul, 2021 ) :Pakistan Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmed Khan said on Wednesday that political solution of Afghanistan issue and formation of an inclusive broad-based government in Kabul were imperative for not only Afghan people but for the entire region.

This he said in his keynote address at the first session of Pak Afghan Media Conclave titled "Exploring possibilities for joint Pak,Afghanistan Media Cooperation" here.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had a forward looking vision on Afghan peace and bilateral ties. He said that in the opinion of Imran Khan, Pakistan would be biggest beneficiary of peace in Afghanistan after Afghans themselves and it would be worst affected if the hostilities continue.

The two-day conclave has been jointly organized by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Pak Afghan Youth Forum and Institute of Regional Studies.

Ambassador Mansoor said that Pakistan can play constructive role by facilitating the dialogue but ultimately it must be an intra-Afghan solution of the problem.

He said that a unique opportunity has arrived to settle the problem as entire international community was standing behind Afghan people now.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had visited Kabul during past couple of years and such high level institutional interactions should continue to bridge the gaps.

He said that visa policy for Afghan people has been eased and after end of COVID related restrictions it would be implemented.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long historical relation but they have not been utilized to their potential, he remarked.

He said that further improving and strengthening bilateral relations with Kabul was the cornerstone of Pakistan foreign policy.

He said that there was need to improve people to people contacts, deepen bilateral trade as presently Pakistan annual trade figure with Afghanistan was $ 1 billion, which could reach the figure of $ 5 billion.

He said that even today over 2.5 million Afghan refugees were living in Pakistan and many of them got education here and got married with local families.

He said it was also desire of the people of Pakistan to have people to people, cultural and trust exchanges and end the trust deficit.

Ambassador Mansoor said that role of media in improvement of bilateral relations was crucial as it could highlight positivity and promote cultural affinities and end misperceptions about each other.

He said that there was need to work with new zest and zeal. This conclave, he said had invoked frank debate and it would go a long way to enhancing cooperation between the medias of the two countries.

He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan were two states but they were one joint interlinked society.

He said that people of Pakistan and Afghanistan have one religion, same culture and language and this was unique relation having no parallel anywhere.

He disclosed that about 60,000 people cross Pak-Afghan border everyday which was quite a big figure.

Moderator of the session Nadia Naqi said that it was unfortunate that violent content becomes headlines whereas positive things find it difficult to come on the screen. She said that media of both the countries had great responsibility in bridging the gaps and bring both people closer.

Panelists from Pakistan were Masood Bag, Hassan Khan, Iftikhar Firdous whereas from Afghanistan were Rabia Sadaaat, Shagoofa Siddiqui, Asad Khosa and Irfan Khan.

They said that there was need of information sharing exchanges of media persons on regular basis to end the trust deficit.

They also called both the governments to allow each other's tv channels on the cable networks.

Similarly newspapers from Afghanistan and Pakistan should be available in both countries. They also called for exchanges from all walks of life to improve people to people contacts.