July 26, 2019
In a chain of positive developments with regards to bilateral relations with Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Shehryar Khan Afridi visited Panjshir – a strategic Afghan valley – on July 25, 2019 and met with local leaders there.
It merits mention that Shehryar Afridi is the first Cabinet Minister to visit Panjshir Valley. Around a decade ago, the then Ambassador Sadiq Khan had visited Panjshir.
The minister also visited the mausoleum of late Afghan leader Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud and laid a floral wreath. He offered Fateha and recorded his comments in the visitor’s book.
Massoud, known as the “Lion of Panjshir,” was an Afghan politician and a powerful guerrilla commander during the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989. Local people often refer to him as the Che Guevara of Northern Afghanistan.
Afridi, on the occasion, stated that all Afghan leaders and politico-ethnic groups are equally important for Pakistan. He made it clear that Pakistan believed in the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process and is working to facilitate it in the best manner possible.
The minister held in-depth talks with the local leadership and briefed them on Pakistan’s efforts to curb terrorism and extremism. He said that Pakistan is making all-out efforts to further the Afghan peace process. The historic visit of the US by Prime Minister Imran Khan had already laid a new foundation for Afghan peace and development. A peaceful and developing Afghanistan would prove to be a partner in Pakistan’s pursuance of regional peace and stability, he added.
Earlier, Shehryar Khan Afridi landed in Afghanistan on July 24, 2019, to inaugurate a Pakistan-funded state-of-the-art hospital in Logar province. The 100-bed Nayeb Aminullah Hospital is a gift from the people of Pakistan for their Afghan brethren. The state-of-the-art Nayeb Aminullah Hospital was built by the Government of Pakistan at a cost of $18 million. Upon arrival, Afghan Minister for Public Health, Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz, and Deputy Governor, Seddiqi, welcomed Afridi.
On the special occasion, the Afghan officials expressed their gratitude for the generous gift and praised Pakistan’s assistance in the health sector.
© Afghan Studies Center (ASC), Islamabad.
