ISLAMABAD (Staff Report) – Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary has said that peace cannot be restored in Afghanistan without reconciliation process which can engage insurgents.
Addressing a seminar on Afghanistan, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary said Pakistan would make every possible serious effort along with other members of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) for bringing Taliban to talks.
He said QCG is the right forum for bringing back the Afghan peace process. A direct peace dialogue between Afghan government and Taliban would be the ultimate success of four-nation forum, he added.
The statement comes just a day after a meeting of Quadrilateral Coordination Group on Afghanistan, which concluded that opportunities must be explored for direct talks with Taliban fighters. The meeting, however, failed to decide the next meeting’s date, which is expected to take place in Kabul.
Addressing the opening ceremony of fifth round of dialogue on Afghanistan in Islamabad, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that Quadrilateral Coordinating Group is making sincere efforts to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan, which is vital for whole region.
The Adviser said Pakistan has played a key role in holding a meeting of the group in Murree last year and dispelled the impression of some countries that Pakistan is controlling the Afghan Taliban. He said no positive response was received from Afghan Taliban despite best efforts of Pakistan.
He said the fifteen-year-long military operation in Afghanistan has produced no substantial results and a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan.
On the occasion, Sartaj Aziz also condemned the recent terrorist attack in Afghanistan and called for an effective border security system. He made it clear that Afghan refugees will be voluntarily repatriated to their homeland.
