BAZARAK, Afghanistan, July 21 (UPI) -- The Pakistani envoy to Kabul visited the Panjshir Valley of Afghanistan in an effort to normalize relations in a former hotbed of anti-Pakistani sentiment.
Muhammad Sadiq, the Pakistani ambassador, paid a visit to the Panjshir Valley region to greet local leaders sympathetic to the Northern Alliance movement that helped U.S. forces in their battle for Afghanistan in 2001, the Pakistani newspaper The Nation reports.
Sadiq laid a wreath at the grave of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the militia commander who led the Northern Alliance prior to his assassination on Sept. 9, 2001. Massoud is considered a national hero in Afghanistan and Sept. 9 is a national holiday in commemoration of the former defense minister.
Sadiq also met with tribal elders in the region as well as Panjshir provincial Gov. Haji Bahlol Bahij, who welcomed the diplomatic gestures from the Pakistani envoy.
U.S. President Barack Obama and his top military strategists have linked instability in Afghanistan to developments in Pakistan as the border region between the two countries is considered a key stronghold for al-Qaida and Taliban militias.
