ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhery Fawad Hussain on Monday said a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan was vital for building communication linkages between Pakistan and Central Asia.
During a meeting with Ambassador of Uzbekistan Aybek Arif Usmanov, who called on him here, he said enhanced cooperation between the two countries in areas mutually beneficial to each other would also open new avenues of opportunities and prosperity in the entire region.
He said the dream of building a rail track between Karachi and Tashkent and start of truck service from Pakistan to Central Asia could only be materialised with peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan enjoyed cordial bilateral ties with the brotherly country and would like to foster close coordination with Tashkent on all regional issues particularly on Afghanistan.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to Tashkent provided a new impetus to the bilateral relations as both sides vowed to reinforce multifaceted bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.
He said Pakistan was desirous of all inclusive government, representing all factions of society in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan and Uzbekistan had agreed to produce movies on the lives of Mughal Emperor Zahiruddin Babar and legendary Urdu Poet Asadullah Khan Ghalib. He said the proposal in that regard came up during the visit of prime minister to Uzbekistan.
He said it was agreed that an expert group would be created for the purpose to execute this project.
He said Uzbekistan was a key Central Asian country, and deepening of cultural ties between the two countries would give boost to people to people contacts.
The Uzbek ambassador commended Pakistan’s role in evacuating stranded people from Afghanistan.
He expressed the hope that an inclusive government in Kabul would be formed having representation of all ethnic groups.
He also underlined the need for promoting all types of tourism between the two countries besides proposing Pakistan Television to telecast documentaries on historical Uzbek sites of Samarkand, Bukhara and Sufism traditions.
The meeting was attended by the senior officials of Ministry of Information and broadcasting.