US ‘pleased’ to see PM Imran visiting Kabul | The Express Tribune

The United States said on Friday that it was pleased to see Prime Minister Imran Khan visiting Kabul to underscore Pakistan’s commitment to peace in Afghanistan.

PM Imran during his day-long visit to Afghanistan on Thursday pledged that Pakistan would do everything it could to help reduce the spiralling violence and restore lasting peace and stability in the war-torn country.

“Pleased to see PM Khan visiting Kabul to underscore Pakistan’s commitment to peace & to further cooperation with Afghanistan on security, refugees, trade, and regional connectivity,” the US State Department wrote on its official Twitter handle.

It also said that Afghan and Pakistani cooperation contributed to the entire region’s stability.

 

PM Imran’s trip is the highest-profile visit by a Pakistani official to Kabul since peace talks began between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Qatari capital Doha.

It came days after the Pentagon announced it would reduce the number of US military personnel in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 by mid-January.

Earlier in the day, PM Imran said that his visit to Kabul was “another step towards conveying Pakistan’s commitment to peace in Afghanistan”.

In a two-part tweet from his official handle, the premier said he always believed that peace in Afghanistan can only be achieved through political means and there was no military solution to conflict in the war-torn country.

“My visit to Kabul was another step towards conveying Pakistan’s commitment to peace in Afghanistan. I have never believed in military solutions which is why I always believed that in Afghanistan peace will be achieved through political dialogue,” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

 

Earlier, upon his arrival in Kabul, Imran Khan was given a warm reception at the Afghan Presidential Palace.

The Afghan president received the Pakistan prime minster on his arrival at the Presidential Palace, situated in the heart of Kabul city.

PM Imran reviewed the guard of honour presented by a contingent of Afghan forces.

Afghan Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Haneef Atmar and Afghanistan’s Special Representative for Pakistan Umer Daudzai received the prime minister at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The prime minister’s entourage included Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, PM’s Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, Special Representative for Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and other senior officials.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan and the embassy officials also accompanied by the prime minister.