ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office said on Tuesday that Pakistan was making serious efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, adding that peace in the neighbouring country was in the interest of Pakistan.
The statement came in response to the latest speech of the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in which he said that Kabul would no longer seek Pakistan’s involvement in the current peace talks with Taliban.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that Pakistan hosted the first round of direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban. He, however, said that Pakistan alone is not responsible for bringing the Taliban back to the table.
The spokesman said that the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) was constituted to achieve the objective of peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Zakaria further said that Pakistan itself is the biggest victim of terrorism in which thousands of our security personnel have sacrificed their lives.
“Pakistan condemns all forms and manifestation of terrorism and it is committed in the fight against this menace,” he said. He also said that Pakistan doesn’t differentiate between terrorist groups.
Earlier on Monday, Ashraf Ghani told a joint session of the Afghan Parliament in Kabul that “Pakistan had promised to aid peace talks but we no longer expect Islamabad to bring Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table.”
“We want Pakistan to honour its commitment and take military action against the Afghan Taliban. We want them to handover the Taliban to the Afghan government so we can try them in Sharia courts,” the Afghan president said.
