Afghanistan reconciliation council chief Abdullah Abdullah arrives in Islamabad

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ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) of Afghanistan Dr Abdullah Abdullah was received by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi upon his arrival at the Foreign Office during his three-day visit to Pakistan.

Earlier today, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce Razak Dawood and Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq received the Afghan leader at the Nur Khan Airbase.

Abdullah Abdullah is accompanied by a high-level delegation including prominent members of the High Council for National Reconciliation.

Read more: PM Imran says abandoning Afghanistan peace process for any reason would be ‘a great travesty’

The prime minister had invited Abduallah Abdullah last month “to visit Pakistan at the earliest to share perspectives on advancing the Afghan peace process and forging closer ties between the two countries”.

‘New chapter’ of relations

In a statement before his departure to Islamabad, Abdullah Abdullah hoped his visit will open a new chapter of mutual cooperation at all levels, especially on achieving a lasting and dignified peace in Afghanistan.

“The visit will provide a unique opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on Afghanistan peace talks in Doha, & bilateral relations,” he posted on Twitter.

‘Ties with Afghanistan fraternal’

The HCNR chief will also interact with the Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaisar, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other dignitaries, the FO statement said.

“Dr Abdullah would also deliver a key-note address at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad,” the statement added.

His engagements will include interaction with the media.

“The visit will provide an opportunity for [a] wide-ranging exchange of views on the Afghan peace process and strengthening of Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations and people-to-people interaction,” the FO press release said.

The handout said that Pakistan attaches high importance to its “fraternal ties with Afghanistan, rooted deep in shared history, faith, culture, values and traditions”.

“Pakistan fully supports all efforts for peace, stability and prosperity of the Afghan people,” it added.

The visit will further strengthen “amity, brotherhood and close cooperation between the two countries”, it underscored.

PM warns against ‘hasty withdrawal’

PM Imran, in an opinion in Washington Post on Saturday, has warned the international community against a “hasty withdrawal” from the war-torn country and said abandoning the Afghan peace process for any reason would be “a great travesty”.

“With the exception of the resilient Afghans themselves, no people have paid a higher price for the conflict in Afghanistan than the people of Pakistan. Through decades of conflict, Pakistan has dealt with the responsibility of taking care of more than 4 million Afghan refugees,” wrote PM Imran.

The prime minister also talked about how the war in Afghanistan disrupted Pakistan’s economic trajectory and radicalised fringes of the country’s society. “The Pakistan I had known growing up in the 1960s and 1970s changed in some deeply unsettling ways,” he noted.