Pakistan, Afghanistan resolve to continue peace process
ISLAMABAD, June 11 (APP): Pakistan and Afghanistan on Saturday expressed their commitment for an ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned’ process of reconciliation for sustainable peace in Afghanistan.Addressing a press conference here, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai affirmed their resolve to work closely for reconciliation and peace “in a holistic and comprehensive manner”.The two leaders earlier held a one-one-one and delegation-level talks that focused on the transition phase with the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan from July.Prime Minister Gilani and President Karzai also inaugurated the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission for Reconciliation and Peace in Afghanistan, which was also attended by Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, Chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council.
Terming the talks as “useful and constructive”, Gilani said the dialogue focused on a number of issues, including stability, peace, prosperity and development in Afghanistan and the wider region.
“We discussed the common challenges as well as the opportunities. We agreed that there was no substitute to mutual cooperation if these challenges were to be overcome or these opportunities seized,” he said.
Gilani said it was high time for Pakistan and Afghanistan to make joint efforts to counter terrorism and radicalism.
“Terrorism and militancy have held progress of our two countries hostage for years. It is necessary to confront these evils through a joint strategy,” he said.
President Karzai termed his visit as “very important” and a step towards further enhancing the Pak-Afghan relations.
“Afghanistan and Pakistan have moved many steps forward in their tremendous efforts for regional peace,” he said.
He hoped that the Pak-Afghan Joint Commission would prove a  milestone in achieving the goals of peace in both the countries. He  said the sub-committee of the Commission would meet monthly while its plenary session would take place in October.
Gilani said Pakistan fully supported the efforts of Afghan High Peace Council and its Chairman for promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
To a question regarding the mandate of Peace Commission, Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan supported the efforts of commission, which was headed by honourable leader Burhanuddin Rabbani as it desired stability and prosperity in Afghanistan.
Replying to a question about the withdrawal of US and ISAF forces  from his country, Karzai said  Afghanistan was aware of the withdrawal schedule.
The US troops would complete their transit plan by 2014 when the Afghan forces would take over the full responsibility of protecting their territory.  However, some US troops would stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014 and a proposal in that regard was being discussed between the two countries.
The Afghan President said there was a need to work diligently to ensure peace and security in the region.
He said Afghanistan was committed to expand relations with Pakistan in all fields.
Prime Minister Gilani said frequent interaction between Pakistan and Afghanistan at various levels was a hallmark of bilateral relations.
He mentioned that President Karzai visited Pakistan twice last year while he himself visited Kabul twice during the past couple of months.
He said in today’s talks, they also agreed to translate the potential into concrete projects in many areas including trade, economy, investment, connectivity, energy, infrastructure and people-to-people contacts.
He said some projects were identified during the talks i.e.  Peshawar-Jalalabad-Herat Expressway, rail link between Peshawar and Jalalabad and hydroelectric power generation and transmission.
He said the establishment of Special Economic and Industrial Zones and realization of the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) were discussed as these initiatives could turn the tide and change the mindset.
He termed the new Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade an important development which, he said, would generate greater economic activity between the two countries and beyond. 
Gilani mentioned  mega projects like TAPI Gas pipeline and CASA-1000 and said their speedy completion and implementation would change the regional horizon and people’s destinies.
He called upon the investors and friendly countries to come forward and invest in these and other projects. “This will indeed be an investment in peace,” he said.
Gilani said the talks also addressed the prisoners’ issues and both the sides agrreed to consult each other on counter-narcotics.
The Prime Minister said the importance of Pakistan-Afghanistan-US cooperation for regional peace was indispensable.  The trilateral engagement would be pursued in the future.
He said the Peace Commission would facilitate exchange of views on cooperation and coordination and accelerate the pace of reconciliation process. He hoped that the senior officials would continue follow-up discussions at the subsequent meetings of the Commission.