Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s Chief Advisor on National Security Sarwar Ahmedzai has said that the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to US would prove to be game changer in Afghan peace process and Afghans were looking forward towards his maiden US visit.
Addressing a joint press conference with Minister for SAFRON and Narcotics Control Shehryar Khan Afridi here on Friday, Sarwar Ahmedzai said that Afghan government has requested all regional and global partners to play their part in peace process. “The recent dialogue has been very productive and we look forward to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s US visit,”’ he added.
Briefing the media on weeklong trip of Afghan delegation, Shehryar Afridi said that that Afghan President Dr Ashraf Ghani had sent this delegation as follow-up of his recent trip to Pakistan to help expedite the decisions agreed between the two countries.
Shehryar said that Afghanistan and Pakistan have opened a new chapter of friendly relations and the peoples of both the countries would not allow the detractors to create misunderstandings through fifth generation and hybrid warfare.
“During the visit, the Afghan delegation held talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Minister for SAFRON and Narcotics Control, Overseas Pakistanis, Ministry of Interior, representatives of UNODC, UNHCR, etc.
“I also took the delegation to visit Afghan refugee camps in Peshawar and they themselves saw the facilities being provided to the refugees. Since Sarwar Ahmedzai himself lived in refugee camps and his family still lives there, he could better understand the level of facilities being provided to refugees. Let me tell you that the blame game era is over and Pakistan and Afghanistan have moved towards a new chapter of friendly relations,” the minister said.
Afridi said that Sarwar Ahmedzai had met Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and forwarded a request of the Afghan government to open airspace for flights between Delhi and Kabul. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan immediately approved the opening of the airspace while bank accounts to 1.4 million Afghan refugees have also been allowed on humanitarian grounds.