Pakistan and the US special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad are confident about the start of the negotiations involving Afghan parties to the conflict.
Ambassador Khalilzad, who held meetings with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in his day-long visit on Wednesday, has “noted how close the sides are to starting intra-Afghan negotiations and the importance of resolving remaining issues quickly, underscoring the promise peace holds for regional stability and development,” the US embassy in Islamabad said on Thursday.
A US embassy statement said Ambassador Khalilzad thanked Pakistani officials for their ongoing efforts to advance the peace process.
Slow process of the release of Taliban prisoners has delayed the intra-Afghan dialogue, which was scheduled to start on March 10.
Under the Taliban-U.S. agreement signed on Feb. 29, the Afghan government would release 5,000 Taliban prisoners and the Taliban would free 1,000 prisoners of the government until March 10. However, Afghan government’s leaders initially refused to release the Taliban prisoners as they said they were not part of the Taliban-U.S. deal and that release of 5,000 prisoners will take time.
Javid Faisal, spokesman for the office of Afghanistan National Security Adviser, said last week the government has so far released 3500 Taliban prisoners.
Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen has confirmed the release of 3500 Taliban prisoners and said they have released 737 government’s prisoners.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said there have been positive strides in the ongoing peace process including the historic Agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban.
“The relevant Afghan stakeholders are now moving forward towards starting the Intra-Afghan dialogue, which we hope would lead to a comprehensive and inclusive political settlement,” Farooqui said at her weekly briefing in Islamabad.
She said Pakistan has been extending support and facilitation, in good faith, to seek a political solution to the prolonged Afghan conflict.
“This is in line with the consistent advocacy and stance of Prime Minister Imran Khan that there is no military solution to the Afghan problem,” the Pakistani spokesperson said.
Replying to a question about the visit to Pakistan by the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad on Wednesday she said Khalilzad’s visit was part of his regular engagement for consultations and exchange of views on the Afghan peace and reconciliation process.
“Pakistan remains committed to continue working with regional and international partners to support efforts for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. Pakistan remains ready to engage in endeavors to facilitate closer Pakistan-Afghanistan economic partnership and regional connectivity projects,” Farooqui said.
To a question about participation of US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO Adam Boehler in Khalilzad’s team she said the visit of Mr. Boehler was part of Pakistan-US economic engagement in line with the decision of the leadership last July to intensify trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
She said Mr. Boehler met with Pakistan’s economic team under the leadership of the Adviser on Commerce to discuss specific areas of cooperation for U.S. investments, adding there have also been several virtual meetings between the two sides on matters related to economy, trade and finance.
The spokesperson recalled that in February this year, U.S. Secretary Commerce Mr. Wilbur Ross had also visited Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul says there are “prospect” of peace talks starting this month between Afghan government and Taliban negotiators.”
The UNAMA urged parties to redouble efforts at protecting civilians from harm and de-escalating the conflict in order to save lives and create a conducive environment for the upcoming talks in Doha.
“The Mission is particularly concerned by a recent spate of violent incidents in which members of Afghanistan’s civil society have been targeted. Deliberate attacks against religious leaders, healthcare workers, members of the judiciary, civil society activists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and journalists are both shocking and criminal,” a UNAMA statement said.
“It’s taken enormous work and some brave decisions for Afghans to reach the point of being on the eve of unprecedented intra-Afghan negotiations,” said Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. “I encourage parties to lay the necessary foundation for the talks by showing their commitment to peace through immediate and concrete actions to protect civilians and reduce violence.”
“There are spoilers who do not wish to see an end to war,” said Lyons, who is also head of UNAMA. “No matter what tactics they employ to de-rail the peace process, they cannot be allowed to succeed.”
In the first six months of 2020, preliminary figures indicate more than 800 civilians were killed and injured in deliberate attacks against civilians.
