Zardari meets Karzai, discusses bilateral ties and regional situation

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President Asif Ali Zardari met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai here on Thursday night on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York and discussed bilateral relations, situation in the region and peace process. During his meeting with President Karzai, President Zardari said, "Pakistan believes that the destinies of the people of the two countries were intertwined and the two neighbours who are linked with historic cultural and religious bonds should work together in confronting the shared challenges and issues." The President said Pakistan has abiding interest in the peace, stability and socio-economic development of Afghanistan and will continue to support every effort of the international community in this regard. He said that Pakistan was supportive of an Afghan-led and Afghan owned reconciliation process in Afghanistan. Discussing common challenges and issues, President Zardari said that militancy, terrorism, narco-trade, illiteracy with less economic opportunities were among the main issues being confronted by the two countries but "we must join hands to overcome these issues". The President said the goal of completely eliminating militancy and terrorism from the region would remain elusive until an enabling environment is created where the militancy is automatically defeated. He said that education and provision of economic opportunities would be instrumental in winning the battle of hearts and minds and weaning away youth falling into the traps of militants. The President also emphasized upon the need for the two countries to focus on financial mechanisms involved in funding the terrorist activities. He said that there was a nexus between the large scale heroin trade and terrorism, adding "we must urgently cut this cord". The President said equally important in this quest was to offer alternatives to the people. President Zardari said that hosting of an international conference on the issue of narco trade later this year by Pakistan was a measure of the commitment to collectively fight the menace and to promote real-time substantive cooperation for effectively addressing the issue of drug production and trafficking. The President underlined the need for enhanced regional connectivity saying that Pakistan was eager to extend Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) to the Central Asian states for promoting trade and economic activities in the region. He expressed the hope that, as a first step, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan will be able to sign the trilateral transit and trade agreement this year. President Hamid Karzai thanked President Zardari for the assistance being provided by Pakistan to his country. The two leaders besides discussing bilateral ties, regional situation and peace process in Afghanistan also exchanged views on the issues of international importance as well as the challenges facing Muslim Ummah. They also agreed to build trust and reduce trust deficit so that they could enhance cooperation in all the fields including intelligence sharing. Those who were present during the meeting from Pak side included among others Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr. Asim Hussain, Secretary General M. Salman Faruqui, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, Ambassador Sherry Rehman and Ambassador Masood Khan. Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul, Chief of High Peace Council Salauddin Rabbani and Ambassador Eklil Ahmad Hakimi among others were also present during the meeting.