Islamabad: Under the leadership of the Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi, MNA and convener of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Parliamentary Friendship Group, in association with PILDAT will organising the 7th Pakistan-Afghanistan Parliamentarians’ Dialogue on December 11-12 in Islamabad.

A delegation of 18 Afghan MPs, belonging to Meshrano Jirga (Senate of Afghanistan) and Wolesi Jirga (National Assembly of Afghanistan), will arrive in Islamabad on December 10 and will engage in a two day Dialogue with their Pakistani counterparts on issues that impact the relationship between the two countries.

Senator Abdulwali Raji, Member of the Meshrano Jirga, and Honourable Mr. Mirwais Yasini, Member of the Wolesi Jirga, will be leading the Afghan delegation while Mr. Faisal Karim Kundi, MNA, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and convenor of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Parliamentary Friendship Group will officiate the dialogue from the Pakistan side.

MPs from Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed on the agenda to discuss Overview the Current State of Relations between the two countries and discussion on Challenges and Opportunities for their Relations in the context of before and after US/NATO Withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, among other things. Also on the agenda is taking stock of the implementation on MPs’ recommendations from previous Pak-Afghan Parliamentarians’ Dialogues.

PILDAT conceptualised and initiated the project of building and deepening Parliamentary ties and relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2008. To-date six (6) joint Dialogues of Pakistani and Afghan Parliamentarians have been facilitated by PILDAT during 2008, 2009 and 2011. The broad objective behind the initiative has been to facilitate Parliaments of the two countries to develop a relationship based on greater interaction and dialogue with each other on bilateral and regional relations and issues of mutual interest.

The Afghan Parliamentary delegates from the Afghan Meshrano Jirga includes Senator Mohammad Amin Safi, Senator Lutfullah Baba, Senator Ahmad Mawen, Senator Baz Mohammad Zormati, Senator Bahramkhan Samkani, Senator Nisar Ahmad Haress while delegates from the Afghan Wolesi Jirga include Sayed Ishaq Gailani, Mr. Abdul Latif Pedram, Mr. Amir Mohammad Yar, Mr. Sakhi Mashwani, Mr. Abdul Ghaffar Qael, Mr. Mahmood Khan Suleiman Khail and Mr. Qudratullah Zaki.