After the visit of Hina Rabbani Khar to Afghanistan last week, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has travelled to Qatar. Gilani is visiting Qatar to discuss Afghan peace efforts in the aftermath of the recently held preliminary talks between Taliban representatives and US officials. He also met his counterpart Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani on Monday and agreed to collaborate in the energy and trade sectors.

On the Afghan issue, Gilani reiterated Pakistan’s stance of supporting Afghan-led and Afghan-owned initiatives for stability. Pakistan has some suggestions on the Afghan reconciliation process that were discussed in the meeting, a senior Pakistani official said. He added that Pakistan strictly adheres to the policy of non-interference. Asked how Pakistan viewed Taliban’s office in Qatar, he said that Taliban now have an address and all those desiring peace can have a contact.

The officials of two countries also discussed joint development of hydropower and to identify sources of financing, exploration of investment opportunities, rehabilitation of existing hydropower plants and infrastructure development.

To resolve the energy shortages of Pakistan, Gilani expressed interest in importing 500 million cubic feet LNG per day from Qatar.

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