On August 22, President Karzai received General Saleem Ehsan Hayat, Pakistan’s Deputy Chief of Army Staff, at the Gulkhana Palace.

Discussing Pakistan-Afghan relations, General Hayat said, “Pakistan wants to see a stable and prosperous Afghanistan and will never allow anyone to use Pakistan’s soil for disrupting security in Afghanistan.”

President Karzai added that, “Stability in Afghanistan guarantees stability in Pakistan, and Pakistan will benefit from a secure Afghanistan and already has.  We are two brotherly countries and should make efforts for the well-being of each other.”

“I have invited General Pervez Musharraf, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, to visit Afghanistan and I hope to be able to meet with him in Kabul in the near future,” the President said.