ISLAMABAD – Foreign Office on Thursday said that Pakistan is lookingforward to work with the new US Administration to further strengthen thebilateral ties and resolve the Afghanistan issue.

Speaking at a weekly news briefing here, Foreign Office spokesperson ZahidHafeez Chaudhri said Pakistan was looking forward to work with the new USAdministration to further strengthen the bilateral ties to make itmulti-faceted, sustainable and mutually beneficial.

“Pakistan wants to continue its partnership with the US to achieve peace,stability and prosperity in the region. Pak-US bilateral relationship hasbeen a factor for regional peace and stability. We have achieved a lot byworking together in the past,” he said.

Chaudhri said the continued engagement and coordination was even morecompelling in the context of shared geo-political and security challenges.

“Both the countries have worked closely to achieve the shared objective ofpeace in Afghanistan. Pakistan appreciates the progress made by the Afghanpeace process, emphasizing the need to further build on it,” he added.

The spokesperson said there was no military solution to the Afghanconflict. “An Afghan-led and an Afghan-owned political settlement is thebest way to achieve lasting peace in the neighbouring country,” he said.

The spokesperson urged the international community including the new USAdministration to take notice of grave human rights violations in Indianillegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said India had unleashed a wave ofterrorism in held Kashmir and should be pressurized to improve the humanrights situation in the occupied territory and move towards its resolutionas per the UN Security Council resolutions.

The spokesperson rejected the launch of Ayodhya mosque project in India,replacing historic Babri mosque, which was demolished by extremist Hindumob comprising Sangh Parivar groups in 1992.