Male, Nov 12 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was "taken aback" after Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for Islamabad's meaningful cooperation in investigating the assassination of Afghan peace jirga chief Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani.
The third trilateral summit meeting planned for October was postponed amid tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan following the assassination of Rabbani in a suicide bomb attack on September 20 this year.
A member of the Pakistani delegation said on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, that Karzai had adopted a rather aggressive posture, and "bombarded us with a number of demands laced with accusations".
"The meeting took place in a highly tense atmosphere as the Afghan president was not in a mood to listen to anyone. Frankly speaking, Prime Minister Gilani was taken aback because he had expected a friendly gesture from the Afghan president," the Pakistan minister said.
Gilani reportedly urged Karzai later to change his hostile public posture towards Pakistan, something which he has adopted especially after Rabbani's assassination.
"The Prime Minister told President Karzai that leaders from both sides had to understand each other's sensitivities and start working to find some common ground," the minister said.
Gilani reportedly assured Karzai that his government would offer every possible help required to carry out the investigation into Rabbani's killing. (ANI)
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