Roundup: Pakistani lawmakers visit Afghanistan to improve ties

A Pakistani parliamentary delegation, representing all major political parties, touched down in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday for a two-day visit in a bid to improve ties between the two countries.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, speaker of the National Assembly or the lower house of the parliament, is leading the 15-member delegation, according to the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul.

Apart from meeting their counterparts in Kabul, the Pakistani lawmakers are also scheduled to meet President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

After a series of earlier meetings in Islamabad and Kabul between political leaders and lawmakers, Afghan President Ghani has invited Pakistani members of parliament to visit Kabul and break the stalemate in bilateral contact.

Days earlier, senior Pakistani military officials had also travelled to the Afghan capital on the direction of Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and they had told their Afghan counterparts that "terrorists are common threat and shall be defeated," according to an army spokesman.

Last month, senior Pakistani and Afghan advisers had met in London and the two sides had reached an understanding on reviving bilateral mechanism.

Pakistani parliamentarians have said that bilateral dialogue could enable both sides to share ideas on how to give an effective response to the elements responsible for violence and instability.

"I would call the MPs' visit a big achievement. I am confident our visit will help reduce the tension and pave the way for more visits," said GG Jamal, a member of the Pakistani delegation on Saturday.

Jamal, a former minister and member of the parliament from the Orakzai tribal region, told Xinhua that the Pakistani delegation is comprised of all mainstream political parties.

He said being elected representatives, the MPs could encourage their governments to seriously look into issues of each other's concern.

Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal was upbeat at the visit of the Pakistani lawmakers and hoped both sides will succeed in "finding a path to improved bilateral relations with responding to our grievances and perceptions."

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria has also attached hopes to the visit, saying at his weekly briefing on Thursday that such visits are a "manifestation of desire to strengthen relations between the two countries and, particularly, enhancing parliamentary and people-to-people exchanges." Endit