Former Afghan president urges Pakistan to boost relations

Kabul: Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said Pakistan should opt for friendship and brotherhood instead of violence in order to help boost relations between the two neighbours. [caption id=“attachment_1249809” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Afghan President Hamid Karzai gestures during a press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013. Karzai announced that the final draft of a contentious Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States has been completed ahead of a traditional loya Jirga, or grand council, convened to discuss the critical pact. Both countries have signed off on the draft. AP[/caption] The remarks came after Karzai had a meeting with a team of Pakistani journalists who visited the country as part of the Equal Access programme. The former President thanked Pakistan for supporting the Afghan people who were forced to take refuge there and insisted that establishment of an environment of trust between the governments of the two nations was key to maintaining good relations. The remark by Karzai comes as Afghan officials have long been criticising Pakistan for supporting anti-government groups including the Taliban fighting in Afghanistan. Kabul has often said that Pakistan allows the militant groups, including the Taliban and Haqqani terrorist network, to use its soil as a safe haven from where they plan and coordinate attacks in Afghanistan.