Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday began negotiations on a Strategic Partnership Agreement even as Kabul called on Islamabad to take more steps, including the release of Taliban detainees, to push forward the troubled peace process in the war-torn country.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar presented a draft of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) to her Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul during a meeting at the Foreign Office on Friday afternoon.
Both ministers told a news conference after their talks that they would like the pact to be signed as soon as possible though Rassoul made it clear that such an agreement required ‘full trust’ between the two sides.
‘The issue is that you cannot sign a SPA where there is not full trust and confidence between the two countries. I think you are reaching that grade,’ he said in response to a question.
US SENATE VOTES FOR SPEEDY WITHDRAWAL FROM KABUL
The US Senate voted overwhelmingly for an accelerated withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting, reflecting the wishes of a war-weary nation. The strong bipartisan vote of 62-33 sends a clear message to President Barack Obama and the military as they engage in high-stakes talks about the pace of drawing down the 66,000 US troops there, with a White House announcement expected within weeks. Although the vote was on a nonbinding amendment to a defense policy bill, its significance could not be discounted. Sen Jeff Merkley argued that al-Qaida is stronger in other parts and that nation-building in Afghanistan has gone off track.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar presented a draft of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) to her Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul during a meeting at the Foreign Office on Friday afternoon.
Both ministers told a news conference after their talks that they would like the pact to be signed as soon as possible though Rassoul made it clear that such an agreement required ‘full trust’ between the two sides.
‘The issue is that you cannot sign a SPA where there is not full trust and confidence between the two countries. I think you are reaching that grade,’ he said in response to a question.
US SENATE VOTES FOR SPEEDY WITHDRAWAL FROM KABUL
The US Senate voted overwhelmingly for an accelerated withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting, reflecting the wishes of a war-weary nation. The strong bipartisan vote of 62-33 sends a clear message to President Barack Obama and the military as they engage in high-stakes talks about the pace of drawing down the 66,000 US troops there, with a White House announcement expected within weeks. Although the vote was on a nonbinding amendment to a defense policy bill, its significance could not be discounted. Sen Jeff Merkley argued that al-Qaida is stronger in other parts and that nation-building in Afghanistan has gone off track.