ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday welcomed an agreement between the Afghan government and Taliban to press on with peace negotiations.
Intra-Afghan peace talks to yield a power-sharing arrangement in Afghanistan have been ongoing since mid-September, but there has been no breakthrough so far. Wednesday’s deal, however, is expected to allow negotiators to move on to substantive issues, including talks on a ceasefire.
“Pakistan welcomes the announcement regarding the agreement reached on rules and procedures by the Afghan parties in Doha. This is another significant step forward,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
It is the first written agreement between the Taliban and Kabul government in 19 years of war.
According to a Twitter post by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, it is a “step forward toward beginning the negotiations on the main issues, including a comprehensive cease-fire as the key demand of the Afghan people.”
A ceasefire remains the most urgent demand of both Kabul and the United States which facilitates the talks. The Taliban have refused to agree it during the earlier stages of negotiations and the group’s attacks on Afghan government forces have continued unabated despite their representatives meeting Kabul officials at the negotiating table in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
“Pakistan will continue to support Intra-Afghan Negotiations, culminating in an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political solution paving the way for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan,” the foreign office said, adding that the deal was an “important development contributing toward a successful outcome of Intra-Afghan Negotiations, which we all hope for.”
