- This will be the fourth round of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS)
- Both sides will also discuss the method in which to deploy military officials as Liaison Officers (Los) to share information about the presence and activities of suspects
ISLAMABAD: Senior Pakistani and Afghan officials are scheduled to meet on Monday to review progress on agreements in a series of talks under a bilateral mechanism, according to Pakistani and Afghan officials.
This will be the fourth round of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) – a joint action plan for cooperation in key areas of counter-terrorism and for reduction of violence, and promotion of peace and reconciliation involving repatriation of refugees and joint economic development.
According to a local daily, both sides will discuss the method in which to deploy military officials as Liaison Officers (Los) to share information about the presence and activities of suspects.
“If the LOs system makes progress, LOs could later be deployed at GHQ in Pakistan and Defence Ministry in Kabul,” a source privy to the Pak-Afghan discussions said.
An official told Daily Times that Pakistan has not agreed to Afghanistan’s quest for a third-party verification of actions on both sides as it will set a new precedent. Both sides will explore ways to remove differences that have created hurdles in the formation of five joint working groups of military, intelligence, diplomats, trade and officials of the ministries dealing with the refugees’ issue, he said.
Pakistan believes that under the APAPPS framework, a sustainable and long-lasting solution to problems can be achieved.
This will be the first meeting of the APAPPS after Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani agreed on key principles to finalize the mechanism during their meeting in Kabul in early April.
The issue of cross-border shelling is also one of the issues, both sides will be discussing during the talks.
Afghanistan had initially raised objections with regards to the language used in the document; including the use of the word border – one that Kabul refers to as the ‘Durand Line’. “In order to avoid any controversy and delay in the formation of the joint working groups, Pakistan proposed the use of the word ‘territory on both sides’,” he said.
Meanwhile, a trilateral a trilateral dialogue between China, Afghanistan and Pakistan is taking place in Islamabad on May 15. Scholars and stakeholders from various backgrounds are set to take part in the first round of the track-II/I.5 dialogue.
The umbrella theme of the conference is “China, Afghanistan and Pakistan: Constructive Engagement for Sustainable Growth”. The Dialogue is being organized by the Regional Peace Institute (RPI) with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad.