President Asif Ali Zardari has said peaceful Afghanistan is extremely imperative for stability and prosperity in Pakistan.
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The president said that both neighboring countries could only survive in a peaceful atmosphere. He said that Pakistan fully supports the initiative of negotiation between Afghan government and Taliban.
President Zardari reiterated his resolve that Pakistan would extend full support to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
On the occasion David Cameron issued a direct appeal to the Taliban to enter peaceful talks on the future of Afghanistan
He said that the Afghan and Pakistan’s Presidents had agreed an unprecedented level of co-operation and to sign up to a strategic partnership between their two countries in the autumn.
"Now is the time for everyone to participate in a peaceful, political process in Afghanistan. This should lead to a future where all Afghans can participate peacefully in that country's political process”, he added.
The summit was aimed at boosting cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, amid growing fears that a civil war could erupt when international troops leave Afghanistan in 2014.
These were the third trilateral talks in a year following meetings in Kabul in July and New York last September ,but they were the first talks in which Pakistani and Afghan army and intelligence chiefs also took part.
On 3-4 February Britain’s Prime Minister Cameron hosted a Summit which was attended by President Hamid Karzai ,President Asif Zardari. Foreign Ministers, Chiefs of Defence Staff, Chiefs of Intelligence, the Afghan National Security Adviser and the Chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council.
The meeting discussed in detail Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process and how to strengthen joint efforts to address extremism and advance regional peace and stability.
The Afghan and Pakistani delegations agreed that the quality of dialogue and co-operation had significantly improved. They committed themselves to continue to make strenuous efforts in the spirit of mutual interest.
Both sides also agreed that good neighbourly relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, that ensured the long term stability of both countries, was of fundamental importance.
The three leaders discussed progress on the Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process. President Karzai and his delegation briefed on the Afghan vision and roadmap for peace and reconciliation.
All sides agreed on the urgency of this work and committed themselves to take all necessary measures to achieve the goal of a peace settlement over the next six months. Both affirmed the importance of regional and international support.
President Karzai, President Zardari Prime Minister David Cameron affirmed that they supported the opening of an office in Doha for the purpose of negotiations between the Taliban and the High Peace Council of Afghanistan as part of an Afghan led peace process.
In this context, the two sides agreed that they wanted to build greater trust and co-operation between their military and security services and agreed concrete steps to deliver this. The Afghan and Pakistani Chiefs of Defence Staff and Intelligence enjoyed fruitful discussions and agreed on new mechanisms for strengthening co-operation.
