KABUL: During talks with Pakistan’s visiting foreign minister, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday emphasized the need to fully implement the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS), as Kabul seeks to reset ties with the new government in Islamabad.
The one-day visit by Shah Mahmood Qureshi is the first by a top Pakistani official to Kabul since Imran Khan became prime minister in July.
The talks with Qureshi will show if there is a change of heart in Pakistan with the arrival of a new government, said a senior Afghan government member.
Earlier this month, the US froze $300 million in aid to Pakistan for allegedly not doing enough to curb the Afghan Taliban’s activities.
Qureshi’s visit coincides with a sharp rise in Taliban and Daesh attacks and long-delayed parliamentary elections in October, as well as presidential polls slated for April 2019 that Ghani plans to contest. Ghani is keen for Pakistan to convince the Taliban to not disrupt the elections.
The presidential palace in Kabul said Ghani and Qureshi discussed peace and security in the region, the joint fight against terrorism and implementation of APAPPS, which the two countries signed in April this year.
“The president, referring to the importance of APAPPS, said that this plan is all-sided and its effectiveness becomes important when enforced fully,” the palace said in a statement.
Qureshi also met with his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.
The closure earlier this month of Pakistan’s consulate in the eastern city of Jalalabad was discussed with Rabbani, an Afghan official said.
Current and former officials in both capitals have expressed doubt that Qureshi’s visit will lead to any drastic or immediate change in bilateral relations.
Amrullah Saleh, a former Afghan spy chief, tweeted that Qureshi “will repeat word by word everything his predecessors have said in the past 17 years that Pakistan is not harboring terrorists.”
Afghan president emphasizes need to implement APAPPS to Pakistan FM
Afghan president emphasizes need to implement APAPPS to Pakistan FM
US-Israeli attack violates international law: South Africa
- Ramaphosa “calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to act in a manner consistent with international law,” a statement said
- Ramaphosa “reiterates his call for intensified diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions”
JOHANNESBURG: The US and Israeli strikes on Iran Saturday violated international law, South Africa’s president said, calling for restraint and dialogue.
The allies launched the attack citing “threats” from Iran, which retaliated with a barrage of missiles aimed at Gulf states that host US bases, and at Israel.
President Cyril Ramaphosa “calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to act in a manner consistent with international law, international humanitarian law and the principles of the United Nations Charter,” a statement said.
The UN Charter states that self-defense can only be invoked when a state has been subjected to an armed invasion, the statement from his office said.
It condemned “international law violations,” saying: “Anticipatory self-defense is not permitted under international law and self-defense cannot be based on assumption or anticipation.”
Ramaphosa “reiterates his call for intensified diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and create space for continued meaningful negotiations,” the statement said.
US President Donald Trump said Washington’s goal was “eliminating imminent threats” from Iran, while Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was to remove an “existential threat.”
