On Saturday, Afghan Acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi assured a senior Pakistani delegation led by National Security Adviser (NSA) Moid Yusuf that Afghan land would not be used against neighbors, including Pakistan, Pakistani Dawn news agency reported.

A statement released by the presidential palace in Kabul quoted Hanafi as saying: "The policy of the Islamic Emirate [Afghanistan] is clear: we will not allow anyone to use Afghan land against [our] neighbors and other countries."

Hanafi called Pakistani business leaders and investors to invest in Afghanistan's energy, mining and agricultural sectors.

He stressed the need to implement major regional projects, including the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) 500 kV overhead line project, the Central Asia-South Asia Power Transmission Project, etc.

He said that Afghanistan wants good relations with Pakistan based on mutual respect and development of trade and transit relations between the two countries.

For his part, the head of the NSA of Pakistan stressed that peace and stability cannot be achieved without the establishment of economic relations, and said that the expansion of trade and transit ties is important for both countries.

ORIENT news