11/16/2014

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Let`s bury the past and move on, says Afghan president
By Baqir Sajjad Syed | 11/16/2014 12:00:00 AM
ISLAMABAD: At the end of his two-day path-breaking visit on Saturday, Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani vowed to open a new chapter in ties with Pakistan one which would not be affected by the
acrimonious past.
`We must overcome the past.
we will not permit the past to destroy the future,` he said at a joint press conference with Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif af ter their talks at the PM House.
Overcoming the trust deficit between the two countries was the main objective of the visit. If warm
words spoken by both sides for each other were any indicator, it appeared that the two were serious in
building a new relationship after burying the hatchet.
Nawaz Sharif described President Ghani as `dear brother` and a `special guest`.
The Afghan president said: `We have overcome obstacles of 13 years in three days.
Describing his vision of ties with Kabul, Mr Sharif said: `I have the vision of a strong, comprehensive
and enduring partnership between Pakistan and Afghanistan, contributing to security and prosperity of
our two nations and reinforcing efforts for peace and development in the region.
He noted that President Ghanishared his vision about the relationship.
`We both recognise that we have a historic opportunity to work together and build a stronger
relationship based on mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and marked by mutual
trust, understanding and close cooperation, the prime minister added.
The Foreign Office said in a statement on the Sharif-Ghani meeting: `Pakistan and Afghanistan
reaffirmed their resolve at the highest level to transform bilateral ties and build a relationship marked
byclose cooperation on the political and security planes and a strong economic foundation.
Mr Nawaz Sharif noted that extremism, terrorism and transnational crimes were some of the major
challenges faced by the two countries and called for jointly dealing with them `through common
resolve and common endeavours`.
He reiterated Pakistan`s support for the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, which the Ghani
administration intended to resume, and said `a peaceful, stable, united and prosperous Afghanistan`
was in Pakistan`snational interest.
At the talks, Mr Sharif proposed enhancement of cooperation in different fields, including border
security and defence, Afghanistan`s reconstruction and rehabilitation, capacity building, parliamentary
exchanges, culture, education and sports.
The two leaders did not talk much about how they intended to bolster security cooperation.
Mr Ghani had a day earlier visited the military headquarters where the contours of `defence and
security cooperation` were discussed. According to a statement issued by the InterServices Public
Relations, the Afghan president had agreed to training of his country`s security forces in Pakistan and
cooperation in border management.
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Mr Ghani had then also assured of Afghanistan`s cooperation in fighting terrorism.

At the media event, both leaders refrained from touching upon the controversial issues in their
relationship.
The Afghan president did not speak about Pakistan`s alleged links with the Taliban and Haqqani
Network. Mr Sharif avoided any reference to the presence of sanctuaries of the outlawed TehreekiTaliban Pakistan in Afghan provinces of Kunar, Nuristan and Paktika. He did not even call for the
return of TTP chief Mulla Fazlullah.
But the two issues were discussed at the GHQ meeting and at the PM House, a source said.
`We have begun a comprehensive dialogue on security so that all dimensions of our mutual security
can be discussed, can be delineated, and benchmarked processes can be arrived to build confidence,`
Mr Ghani said about his meeting at GHQ and previous interaction with Army chief General Raheel
Sharif in Kabul.
Journalists were not allowed to ask any question during the press conference.ECONOMIC
COOPERATION: Finance ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a document titled `Agreed
Minutes of the Meeting` to strengthen economic partnership.
Moreover, the two sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade
Coordination Authority before the end of the year.
The two sides set a target of taking bilateral trade to $5 billion by the end of 2017.
`We reaffirmed our resolve to forge a robust economic partnership by expanding trade, promoting
investment, improving infrastructure, building road and rail links and enhancing energy
collaboration,` PM Sharif said.
Connectivity and regional economic cooperation were termed the indispensable elements of the PakAfghan engagement.`We envision trade, energy and communications corridors through transregional
initiatives like the Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission line project (CASA 1000) and
Turkmeni s t an-A fghani st anPakistan-India gas pipeline project, Mr Sharif added.
APP adds: `What we have agreed on is a shared vision where Pakistan and Afghanistan will serve as
the heart of Asia to ensure that economic integration in the continent becomes a reality and does not
remain a dream.
`And today we have taken fundamental steps to ensure that South Asia connects with Central Asia and
Central Asia to South Asia,` President Ghani said.
He invited Prime Minister Sharif to visit Kabul and said: `We look forward to your next visit to... take
even more gigantic steps.

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