ISLAMABAD The United States was not contemplating any reconciliation process in Afghanistan without the active engagement of Pakistan, said Marc Grossman, US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Grossman told this to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani here at PMs House on Wednesday, as he called on Gilani to discuss various facets of Pak-US relationship with special reference to their cooperation in war against terror and peace and stability in Afghanistan. The US does not foresee any reconciliation in Afghanistan without Pakistan, the US envoy said. The prime minister said that it was extremely important for Pakistan to see a sovereign, stable and prosperous Afghanistan because it was in the best interest of Islamabad as well as of the region. Gilani said that he was happy that his idea of three Ds dialogue, development and deterrence was considered as the way forward by the international community to achieve security and stability through economic development. The Prime Minister also underlined the apprehensions that as in the past Pakistan may once again suffer the negative fall out of the Afghanistan problem. At this, Grossman said it was a mistake to abandon Pakistan after the Soviet withdrawal in early 1990s from Afghanistan and said the same would not be repeated. He agreed with the Gilani on the need for the repatriation of the 3.5 million Afghan refugees still on Pakistani soil. PM Gilani said that Pakistan was working to ensure Afghanistans connectivity in the region through the trade agreement (APTA), which should extend to the Central Asian Republics also. He also reiterated the joint resolve of Pakistan and Afghanistans leadership to root out militancy and terrorism as both the countries had suffered severely the impact in terms of loss of precious lives and property, instability in their countries as well as economic set back due to insecurity. The prime minster emphasised that the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan should be on the same page to deny any space to the militants to capitalise on, and was looking forward to a positive outcomes of the forthcoming Istanbul and the Bonn Conferences. The visit of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Pakistan would be an opportunity for exchange of views on multiple subjects, he said, adding that positive messaging both from Washington and Islamabad was important to discourage the militants. Gilani stressed the economic part of the solution to terrorism problem that he said must be an important component of the reconciliation process. Ambassador Grossman appreciated and agreed with the prime ministers views about the criticality of economic development as an essential part of an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process. The US delegation included US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker and Senior Military Adviser to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Rear Admiral Philip Davidson. From Pakistani side, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Senator Sughra Hussain Imam and other senior officials were present on the occasion.