A Taliban 12-member delegation led by political deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mahmmod Qureshi on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad is also in Islamabad and holding talks with Pakistani officials, the US Embassy confirmed on Wednesday.
The Pakistan’s foreign ministry hosted the meeting to provide an opportunity to resume US-Taliban peace talks.
Welcoming the delegation, Minister Qureshi noted that while the people of both Afghanistan and Pakistan have a shared history, geography and culture, Islam remains the strongest bond between the two brotherly countries. He added that the people of both countries have also suffered tremendously from a 40-years-long conflict and instability in Afghanistan. It is time to make all possible efforts for an early, peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan, the minister said.
Qureshi stated that Pakistan would continue to support all efforts to achieve permanent peace in Afghanistan, which is essential for Pakistan’s own socio-economic development.
According to Qureshi, an inclusive peace and reconciliation process, involving all sections of the Afghan society, was the only, practical way forward.
The minister further noted that the earlier US-Taliban talks have been strongly and sincerely supported by Pakistan, and he expressed hopes that the paused peace process would be restarted at an early date.
The broad regional and international consensus for achieving peace in Afghanistan provides an unprecedented opportunity that must not be lost, Qureshi said, and he reiterated Pakistan’s commitment and continued strong support for all efforts in this regard.
In the meeting it was emphasized that a reduction of violence by all parties to the conflict was necessary to provide an enabling environment for the resumption of the peace process at an early date, according the statement by the ministry.
The Taliban delegation expressed in a statement their appreciation for Pakistan’s support for peace in Afghanistan, and confirmed that both sides agreed on the need for a resumption of the peace process at the earliest opportunity.
This comes several weeks after the US-Taliban talks were shut-down by the Trump administration following a Taliban bombing in Kabul that claimed the lives of 12 people, including an American soldier.