Pakistan PM calls for sustained engagement with Afghanistan

He stated this while speaking to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who telephoned him to condole the killing of the diplomatic official Nayyer Iqbal Rana.

Islamabad, November 9: After a diplomatic official serving at Pakistan's consulate general in the Afghan city of Jalalabad was killed, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has emphasised the need to promote cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan through sustained engagement.

He stated this while speaking to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who telephoned him to condole the killing of the diplomatic official Nayyer Iqbal Rana.

The prime minister conveyed to the Afghan president that Pakistan was deeply saddened at the killing of its diplomat.

He thanked the Afghan president for his condolences and said Pakistan expected that urgent steps would be taken by the Afghan government to apprehend the culprits of the crime and bring them to the justice swiftly.

Abbasi emphasised the need for cooperation and said that to realise this objective, "it is important that our two governments should collectively work for deepening the conducive environment" of relations between the two countries.

He also requested the Afghan president that the security of Pakistani nationals in Afghanistan including diplomats be strengthened.

PTI