Pakistan and Afghanistan on Monday agreed to establish “border sustenancemarkets” in the two countries to boost local trade and economic activity inthe border regions.

The agreement was reached during a telephone conversation between PakistaniForeign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Afghan counterpart MohammadHanif Atmar, according to a Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement.

Highlighting Pakistan’s policy to strengthen trade between the twocountries, Qureshi drew Atmar’s attention to the proposed markets,expressing hope for a formal pact on the markets soon.

Reiterating Pakistan’s consistent support for a peaceful, stable andprosperous Afghanistan, Qureshi said intra-Afghan dialogue provided ahistoric opportunity for the Afghan leadership to achieve an inclusive,broad-based, and comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan.

The comments came days after the new Biden administration announced that itwill review the landmark Doha peace deal with the Taliban signed lastFebruary by then-President Donald Trump.

Expressing his concern over the high level of violence in Afghanistan,Qureshi said he hoped progress in the intra-Afghan talks will help reduceviolence in the country.

There is no military solution to the Afghan conflict and a politicalsettlement is the only way forward, he said, adding that Pakistan willcontinue to play a positive role in supporting the Afghan peace process andstrengthening relations with Afghanistan.

Last February, the Taliban reached an agreement with Washington promisingto end the lingering war in Afghanistan in exchange for securityguarantees. The agreement also guarantees the withdrawal of all foreigntroops from the war-torn country by this May.

In December 2018, Pakistan also arranged rare direct talks betweenWashington and the Taliban, paving the way for the Doha peace deal betweenthe two sides.

Pakistan also facilitated the landmark first round of direct talks betweenthe Afghan government and the Taliban in Islamabad in 2015.

Source:link

*Written by Aamir Latif