Pakistan to work with neighbours for peace: Asif Ali Zardari

Islamabad is working closely with Kabul and Istanbul for peace and stability in Afghanistan, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said at a summit in Turkey.

Zardari Tuesday addressed the sixth trilateral summit hosted in Istanbul by Turkish President Abdullah Gul and also attended by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

He expressed full support to the trilateral partnership between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey and said Pakistan had been looking forward to working closely in this partnership to ensure peace, security, stability and development in Afghanistan, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

“We look forward to working closely in this trilateral partnership to build on our inherent strengths and guarantee our people a future free of fear, free of want,” president's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar quoted Zardari as saying.

Zardari said in the fields of development and economic cooperation, “we have in place the necessary frameworks to take forward our cooperation”.

He said this summit will give further impetus to the joint efforts of the three countries for the progress and prosperity in the region.

“I wish to reiterate that Pakistan stands ready to assist in the restoration of stability and peace in Afghanistan,” he said.

While referring to the reconciliation process, Zardari said: “We support an Afghan led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation.”