Pakistan renews its promise for peace in Afghanistan

In this file photo, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, left, shakes hands with his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. (AP)

• Assures Kabul of all possible steps to facilitate process
• Developments follow US-appointed envoy’s visit to Islamabad last week

ISLAMABAD: Reiterating Islamabad’s commitment to support the peace process in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi assured Kabul that Pakistan would extend its full support to work toward the initiative.
While addressing the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Friday, Qureshi added that Pakistan backed an Afghan-led reconciliation process to bring peace to the war-torn country and the region, a statement released by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said.
On Saturday, the Taliban confirmed in a statement that representatives of its political bureau met with US’s newly-appointed Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, in Doha, Qatar, on Friday.
Before visiting Islamabad last week – where he met with Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua to discuss the way forward and seek a political solution to the problem — Khalilzad had also held talks with the Afghan leadership in Kabul.
“The visit took place following the Foreign Minister’s visit to Washington and Secretary of States’ (Mike Pompeo’s) visit to Islamabad where both sides agreed to re-engage and work together on the common objective of peace and stability in Afghanistan through a politically-negotiated settlement,” Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Faisal, told reporters on Thursday during his weekly news briefing.
He added that Pakistan had conveyed to the US that while it would take “all possible steps, in good faith, to facilitate the process for political settlement, it remains a shared responsibility”.
“The role of the US, Afghanistan and other regional players is equally important. That is why ambassador Khalilzad is visiting other countries including the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to elicit their support,” Faisal said.
Senior analyst and an expert on Afghan affairs, Rahimullah Yusufzai, told Arab News that it was expected that Khalilzad would meet important stakeholders, most notably the representatives of the Taliban group, following his appointment.