Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has said that both Pakistan and Afghanistan will make serious efforts to control terrorism, otherwise there may be serious threats to regional peace. It is premature to say anything about the end of the concerns. It will be seen in the coming months how much the Pak-Afghan ceasefire agreement is implemented.
In an interview with the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera Arabia after the ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said that he thanked the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and the head of the Turkish delegation Ibrahim. The main objective of the agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan is to end the problem of terrorism.
The Defense Minister said that terrorism has been affecting the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan for years. Last week, the issue of terrorism reached a direct clash between the two countries. Both countries have come to the conclusion that an immediate end to terrorism is necessary.
Khawaja Asif said that both countries will make serious efforts to control terrorism, otherwise there may be serious threats to regional peace. This agreement was mainly brokered by Qatar and Turkey. Another meeting will be held in Istanbul next week to finalize the details of the agreement.
The Defense Minister said that the Afghan Defense Minister acknowledged that terrorism is the main cause of tension in our relations, which will now be brought under control, an effective mechanism will be clarified so that the current problems between the two countries can be resolved, and the details of the agreement will be agreed upon in Istanbul.
He said that the presence of Qatar and Turkey is a guarantee for this agreement in itself. We have suffered massive human and financial losses in the past years. Hopefully, peace will now return and Pakistan-Afghanistan relations will return to normal. As a result, Pak-Afghan trade and transit will also resume and Afghanistan will be able to use Pakistani ports.
The Defense Minister said that Afghan refugees who have legal visas and documents will be able to stay in Pakistan, a large number of Afghan refugees do not have any documents, so their return will continue.
He said that the use of the Pak-Afghan border should also be formal, as is the case in other countries of the world, it is premature to say anything about the alleviation of concerns that we are 100 percent satisfied, we will have to see in the coming weeks and months how much the agreement is implemented.
He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan have been neighbors for centuries, geography cannot be changed, it is hoped that after this agreement both countries will be able to move forward with good relations, the presence of brotherly countries Qatar and Turkey has given us confidence, we are grateful to them.