Pakistan foreign secretary meets Mullah Rabbani in Riyadh

JEDDAH: Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed has held a detailed meeting on his arrival in Riyadh with the Acting President of Afghanistan Mulla Rabbani, says a press release issued by the Pakistani Consulate General in Riyadh yesterday.

The meeting focussed on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ongoing efforts to promote the Afghan peace process. Mulla Rabbani is in Saudi Arabia to perform Umra.

The Foreign Secretary impressed upon him the need for the urgent restoration of peace in Afghanistan. He urged Mulla Rabanni to negotiate with other Afghan parties.

Mulla Rabbani is reported to have lauded the Prime Minister's efforts, and assured Shamshad that the Taliban would participate in the meeting of the Ulema with sincerity of purpose. The meeting could get underway as soon as a list of participants was received from the Northern Alliance.

The Afghan leader observed that there was an unwarranted international bias against the Taliban, and an utter lack of understanding of their policies. The fact that they had restored peace and stability in the areas controlled by them showed that the Taliban movement had come into existence for the very purpose of restoring peace in the country. Mulla Rabbani said that economic recovery was high on the Taliban agenda, and hoped that international assistance in this field would be forthcoming.

The Taliban leader described Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as a great friend and well wisher of Afghanistan. He expressed appreciation for the Prime Minister's initiative to promote the intra-Afghan process, and conveyed his deep gratitude for the humanitarian relief to the people of Afghanistan. -NNI