KABUL: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz on Sunday assured the Afghan leadership that Pakistan would extend full support and cooperation in holding intra-Afghan talks for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He said Afghanistan will hold negotiations with the Taliban, while Pakistan will provide its fullest cooperation in this regard.During his day-long visit, Sartaj Aziz held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Dr Zalmai Rassoul. The two sides discussed ways to further promote bilateral relations and prospects for peace in Afghanistan.
Addressing a press conference with Zalmai Rassoul, Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan was ready to help in holding intra-Afghan talks for peace and stability in Afghanistan, if the Afghan leaders asked for it.
He said Pakistan has been trying to help jump start the peace process as a stable Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s own interest.However, he said, any peace talks must be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led. He said Pakistan would take every step to bring peace in Afghanistan.
Sartaj Aziz, who was on his first visit to Kabul after assuming charge as adviser to the PM on foreign affairs and national security, said: “The PML-N government wants to expand relations with Afghanistan.”
He said his visit brought a message of peace and cooperation from Pakistan. The PM’s adviser said Pakistan wanted to remove all barriers in the way of trade between both the countries. He said expansion in trade would bring prosperity to the people of the two countries, besides improving the economy.
Sartaj Aziz denied perceptions held by many in Afghanistan that Pakistan controls the Taliban, given that its leaders have apparently taken sanctuary in Pakistan, and insisted Islamabad could only help bring about a deal and not impose one.
“We have some contacts with the Taliban because of the past but we don’t control them,” he told the news conference.He said Pakistan had eased the movement of Taliban negotiators and released 26 Taliban detainees at the request of the Afghan government.
“In the future, if to this extent we are requested, we can play the same role but at the appropriate time and in consultation with other interested parties,” he said.
In an unusually blunt remark, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul said that efforts on both sides to strengthen relations, fight terrorism and ignite peace talks “have not been successful”.“I hope the new government of Pakistan will open a new chapter in Pakistan-Afghan relations,” he said.
Earlier, Sartaj Aziz invited President Hamid Karzai to Islamabad to strengthen bilateral relations and to improve strained relations and help peace efforts with the Taliban.
“The main purpose of my visit is to convey a formal invitation from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to President Karzai to visit Pakistan.” “We wish Afghanistan a success for those two important milestones.”
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