President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said Pakistan and Afghanistan should stand together and persuade the international community to devise a Marshal Plan for the region to get rid of militancy and its effects.
“The two countries need to speak the same language at international forums because both suffer from the same malaise caused by the same mindset of militancy and extremism,” the president said while talking to Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the bilateral talks. The Afghan delegation, led by Hamid Karzai, included Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul, National Security Adviser Dr Rangin Dafdar Spanta, Education Minister Dr Farooq Wardak and charge d’affaires Majnoon Gulab.
President Zardari led the Pakistani delegation comprising Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Hina Rabbani Khar, Secretary General to the President Salman Faruqui and president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar.
President Zardari said there may be some minor variations in the medication needed by Pakistan and Afghanistan to meet the challenges of militancy but the root-cause of the malaise being the same, the two countries needed to be on the same page, speak the same language and demand assistance from the international community with the same vigour and intensity, president’s spokesman said.
President Zardari also suggested that foreign ministers of the two countries should sit together and work out modalities in this regard. Farhatullah Babar said President Zardari also endorsed the suggestion of his Afghan counterpart to convene a meeting of the Pak-Afghan Peace Jirga after the Afghan Peace Jirga held its deliberations.
The president said the Pak-Afghan Peace Jirga will help take forward the process of friendship. “Every step that can be taken must be taken to address our common issues,” Zardari said with reference to the proposed meeting of the Pak-Afghan Peace Jirga.
Strengthening bilateral ties and ways to address regional issues related to peace and security and jointly fighting terrorism also came under discussion. Karzai, who flew in here late afternoon on a two-day visit, arrived at the Presidency and met President Zardari soon after his arrival.
During the exclusive and delegation-level talks, President Zardari stressed for enhanced interaction between the two countries to better cope with the issues of terrorism and extremism. He said the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan were of great importance and termed terrorism a common challenge to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan was determined to fight militancy to the end, which was a long drawn battle and there was no quick solution to this problem. President Zardari stressed the need for greater economic cooperation between the two countries and said the government was determined to correct the past mistakes to carve out a better future.
He pointed out that Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Afghanistan was $ 1.4 billion in 2008 and there was a vast economic potential and great opportunities for cooperation. He said Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement was under negotiations and hoped it would further boost the economic interaction.
Karzai urged for a partnership which allows realisation of the full potential of human and natural resources. He called for new development projects and investment in the two countries driven by energy corridors in the region. Karzai also thanked Zardari for Pakistan’s support and efforts for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan.