COMPLETE COVERAGE | FRONT LINES | AMERICA AT HOME | INTERACTIVES »

Pakistan hails Afghan agreement

Sattar: 'A matter of great joy'

By Tom Mintier
CNN Correspondent

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan is elated over an interim government agreement for war-torn Afghanistan, Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said on Wednesday.

"This is a matter of great joy for us," Sattar said.

Delegates at a special U.N.-sponsored summit in Bonn, Germany signed the interim government agreement Wednesday.

Pashtun tribal leader Hamid Karzai was named interim administrator for a transitional government in a post-Taliban Afghanistan.

He will lead a 29-member government for six months until a Loya Jirga or traditional tribal council meeting is convened to decide on a permanent government for the country.

MORE STORIES • Afghan factions sign power deal     CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

Sattar made the comments while waiting for the arrival of the secretary-general of Organization of Islamic Conference for a two-day meeting.

Sattar said Pakistan will establish relations with the Afghanistan as soon as the new administration, agreed to at Bonn, takes office.

"For the first time in a quarter century, the people of Afghanistan can now look forward peace and unity of their country and to an administration that is wholly committed to bring an end to the travail of the Afghan people."

Sattar said Pakistan "will extend full cooperation to the interim administration" involving issues dealing with Pakistan-Afghanistan relationships.

"And also, we would like to make a modest contribution within our modest resources toward the settlement and solution of humanitarian and reconstruction problems that confront Afghanistan."