Shah Mehmood Qureshi embarks on maiden visit to Afghanistan

In this handout photograph released by the Press Information Department (PID) on September 14, 2018, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi (R) shakes hand with visiting Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) after a joint press ta

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday embarked on his maiden visit to Afghanistan where he will hold talks with President Ashraf Ghani and other top Afghan leadership on security and other bilateral issues between the two countries.
It is the first foreign visit of Qureshi since assuming the office of the foreign minister.

"FM Qureshi left for Kabul on his first foreign visit abroad underlining the importance government attaches to work closely with Afghanistan for regional peace and stability," Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said. Qureshi will meet his Afghan counterpart as well as Afghan President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah during the one-day visit.

The two sides will also discuss the re-opening of Consulate General in Jalalabad which was closed due to security reasons last month.
Faisal said successful outcome of the visit will lead future efforts to enhance bilateral cooperation under bilateral frameworks of cooperation including Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity APAPPS.

Qureshi-s visit comes amidst the US- pressure on Pakistan to play more active role in arranging peace talks with Taliban rebels. On Friday, the country-s civil and military leadership held a meeting at PM Office to discuss foreign policy challenges. Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Intelligence director general Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, Qureshi, foreign secretary and other senior officials were present at the high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Bilateral relations with "certain friendly countries" and issues relating to security were discussed during the meeting, according to an official statement.

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