Islamabad: Pakistan today said any future
initiative on Afghanistan should maintain that country’s
"historic neutrality" and ensure that Afghan soil is not used
against any of its neighbours.
Islamabad’s position was conveyed by Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani to visiting British Foreign Secretary David
Miliband during a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House this
afternoon.
Future initiatives on Afghanistan should also ensure
that country’s "territorial integrity, national reconciliation
and peace and stability," Gilani said.
"The historic neutrality of Afghanistan should be
maintained with the commitment that Afghan soil will not be
used against any of its neighbours," he added.
The forthcoming London Conference on Afghanistan
should ensure that consensus developed on the civilian track
"should have Afghan ownership for a genuinely Afghan-led
reconciliation process", he added.
Gilani also called for setting up an Afghan
Re-Settlement Fund to support a programme that would provide
incentives for the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
Pakistan currently hosts millions of Afghan refugees.
The premier said Britain and Pakistan should persist
with concerted efforts to strengthen their cooperation under
their strategic dialogue.
He appreciated the timely disbursement of economic aid
and welcomed the scheduling of the second Pakistan-EU Summit
in Brussels in April 2010.
PTI
