ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday acknowledged that confidence level between Islamabad and Kabul on security matters was at a historic low and urged the top Afghan leadership to stop its anti-Pakistan propaganda, a top official told a TV Channel.
The official at the Foreign Office said “National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz will deliver a clear message to Afghan leadership in this regard when he meets them on Friday.”
“Afghanistan has to stop anti-Pakistan remarks and carry out measures to build trust,” asserted the FO official, who requested not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Aziz, the official maintained, would also stress that “peace and stability in Afghanistan lies in intra-Afghan dialogue and therefore Kabul must sit in the second round of peace talks with Taliban and other groups”.
Moreover, the official rejected Afghan allegations accusing Pakistan of abetting the recent terror attacks in Kabul. He maintained that 80 per cent of the insurgency in Afghanistan originates from within.
The official admitted that the agreement on security and counter terrorism between the intelligence agencies of the two countries was now a dead document because it was not approved by the Afghan parliament.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Foreign Office in a statement confirmed that the adviser to the prime minister on national security and foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, will visit Kabul on September 4 (tomorrow).
During his visit Aziz will lead the Pakistani delegation in the ministerial meeting of the sixth Regional Economic Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA-VI).
The FO spokesman said the premier’s adviser will also hold consultations with the Afghan leadership on important bilateral issues.
Tensions have flared in recent weeks, with Ghani accusing Islamabad of failing to act against extremists operating along the porous border.
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