ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan has welcomed the agreement reached in Qatar’s Capital Doha between the Afghan government and the Taliban on rules and procedures for their peace negotiations.
“This is another significant step forward,” said the Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri in a statement in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The Spokesperson said that the agreement reflects a common resolve of the parties to secure a negotiated settlement.
Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that it is an important development contributing towards a successful outcome of intra-Afghan negotiations, which we all hope for.
“Pakistan will continue to support Intra-Afghan negotiations, culminating in an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political solution paving the way for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan,” Chaudhri said.
Earlier in the day, the Afghan government and Taliban representatives reached a preliminary deal to press on with peace talks, their first written agreement in 19 years of war.
“The procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been finalised and from now on, the negotiation will begin on the agenda,” a member of the Afghan government’s negotiating team Nader Nadery told a foreign news agency.
The Taliban Spokesman Dr. Muhammad Naeem also confirmed the development in the following tweets.
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Today (Wednesday 2020-12-02), the plenary meeting was held between two Intra-Afghan Negotiation teams. In this meeting, a joint working committee was tasked to prepare the draft topics of the agenda.— Dr.M.Naeem (@IeaOffice) December 2, 2020
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The current negotiations of both negotiation teams show that there is willingness among Afghans to reach a sustainable peace and both sides are committed to continue their sincere efforts to reach a sustainable peace in Afghanistan.— Dr.M.Naeem (@IeaOffice) December 2, 2020