LONDON: The prime minister’s advisor on national security and foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz, who is on an official visit to the United Kingdom for a review of the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue (ESD) between Pakistan and Britain, has said that stable Afghanistan is pre-requisite for peace in the region.
In his address to a function at the international institute of strategic studies in London‚ he said that Pakistan desires peace and prosperity in Afghanistan as instability in that country has affected Pakistan’s internal situation.
The advisor said that Pakistan fully supports peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan for its economic development.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam informed that the prime minister’s advisor met UK’s International Development Secretary Justine Greening‚ Home Secretary Theresa May and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond during his visit to London to review the ESD.
The spokesperson said that Secretary Greening appreciated the concrete steps taken by the present Pakistan government in the areas of tax collection and economic reforms.
Aslam said that UK Secretary Theresa May lauded Pakistan’s new internal security policy and offered her country’s support for its timely and effective implementation.
The advisor and Defence Secretary Hammond discussed post-NATO withdrawal scenario in Afghanistan and its implications for the region besides Pakistan-UK defense cooperation, Aslam said.
In addition, the spokesperson said that the two sides expressed satisfaction over cooperation under the framework of the ESD and hoped that the targets set under the framework would be achieved within the given time frame.
