Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday he supports Afghan efforts to make peace with the Taliban and will help the negotiators met a former guerrilla commander .
Sharif who visited Afghanistan for talks with President Hamiz Karzai asserted that his government has freed former Taliban commander Mullah Baradar , who is considered by Afghanistan as essential to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table .
" Anyone who was sent by the president of Afghanistan to Pakistan to negotiate with Mullah Baradar ... we believe that such meetings will be held , " Sharif said in a press briefing .
The one-day visit is the first visit to Afghanistan since Sharif took office in May and made public when Karzai involved in a dispute with Washington regarding the security agreement covers U.S. troops will remain in the country after next year .
" The key to lasting peace in Afghanistan after 2014 and it is a political settlement involving all parties , " said Sharif .
" It is important to stop the devastating conflict ... Pakistan will continue to provide all possible facilities for the Afghan peace process . "
Pakistan is considered as an important consider peace in Afghanistan because Pakistan is an important supporter of the Taliban government in Kabul from 1996-2001 and is expected to accommodate a number of leaders of the movement .
The elements of the Pakistani state is also accused of providing funds and control of the Taliban , and Karzai has previously identified the Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan as the root cause of the rebellion.
" There is no doubt that since the ruling Sharif - cooperation and expanding relations with Afghanistan , " Karzai said after their meeting .
" Now we talk about how the peace process can be carried out , the U.S. role in the peace process , and how the U.S. , Pakistan and Afghanistan to work together , " he added without elaborating.
Sharif also due to meet with the Afghan High Peace Council , which seek open talks with the Taliban are fighting US-led NATO troops and Afghan forces .
Baradar was arrested in 2010 but was released from jail in Pakistan September as part of efforts to push the peace process of Afghanistan .
Since his release he is reported to be under house arrest by the Pakistani authorities .
Afghanistan peace process stalled since the opening of the Taliban office in Qatar in June , which makes Karzai angry and call it as an embassy for a government in exile .
The Taliban refused direct contact with Karzai or the High Peace Council , accusing them of being puppets of Washington.
Karzai , who is scheduled to be down next year hit by issues concerning bilateral security agreement ( BSA ), which would allow some U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan for training missions and counter - terror missions after NATO combat troops ended .
Washington wants a signatory to the treaty soon , but Karzai accuses impose new conditions at the last moment even though a panel of tribal leaders , and political or " loya jirga " which met last week to decide he was asked to sign the agreement soon .
Afghan president strongly criticized the U.S. , and on Friday angrily to the NATO forces over airstrike that he said killed a boy aged two years in Helmand province , southern Afghanistan , according to AFP
No comments:
Post a Comment