President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday expressed optimism that Quadrilateral Coordination Group meeting held in Islamabad will positively move the reconciliation process forward in a meaningful and sustained manner to achieve peace in Afghanistan and the region. He also called for united and co-ordinated efforts to combat militancy and eliminate terrorism. The President was talking to Ambassador of Afghanistan, Janan Mosazai, who paid a farewell call on him here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The President said that the people of Pakistan have fraternal and special feelings for all Muslim countries particularly Afghanistan. He stated that the relationship with Afghanistan was rooted in common history, religion, culture and people to people contacts.

Praising the visionary leadership of President Ashraf Ghani and acumen of Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, the President hoped that Afghanistan will soon have peace and stability and said that Pakistan was ready to facilitate in every possible manner to achieve the objective. He called for more exchanges in trade and cultural fields to further cement the fraternal ties between the people of the two countries.

The President called for early return of the Afghan refugees to their homeland and said that Pakistan and Afghanistan should make joint efforts to facilitate their return and integration in the Afghan society. He congratulated Mosazai for successful completion of his tenure in Pakistan and expressed best wishes for his new assignment and hoped that he would continue to work for the promotion of Pak-Afghan relations.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2016