ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday that Islamabad hoped to see intra-Afghan negotiations following the signing of US-Taliban peace deal in Qatar today, according to a statement issued by the foreign office.
Qureshi is currently in the Qatari capital of Doha to represent Pakistan at the signing ceremony of the historic peace deal which aims to end the decades long conflict that has marred Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001.
According to the foreign office, Qureshi met with the US special representative for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, in Doha where the American diplomat briefed the Pakistani foreign minister on the recent developments related to the US-Taliban peace deal.
Qureshi reiterated that Islamabad would continue to work for sustainable peace and security in the wake of the peace deal. He noted during his interaction with Khalilzad that Afghanistan would require international support for reconstruction efforts, according to the official handout.
The US and Afghan Taliban representatives have held behind-the-door negotiations for nearly two years in the Qatari capital before finding a way to end the 19-year old war — the longest in the US history.
Earlier, while addressing the Pakistani diaspora in Qatar, Qureshi said that the peace agreement between the United States and Afghan Taliban will open new avenues of development in the region.
“Peace in Afghanistan will open up our links with Central Asia,” Qureshi was quoted as saying.
He added that with peace and stability, “there will be numerous opportunities for promoting bilateral trade” between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The deal follows nearly a week of reduced violence by the Taliban which had committed to preventing suicide attacks, rocket fire and bombings — a key US demand ahead of the final agreement today.
Next, it’s expected to pave way for the gradual departure of nearly 12,000 foreign troops from the country and the start of an intra-Afghan dialogue.
The troop withdrawal is a tit-for-tat condition set by the Taliban, which has refused to engage with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his government.
In a statement released late on Friday, US President Donald Trump urged Afghans to seize the opportunity for peace and “a new future” for their country.
“Nearly 19 years ago, American service members went to Afghanistan to root out the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks. In that time, we have made great progress in Afghanistan, but at great cost to our brave service members, to the American taxpayers, and to the people of Afghanistan,” he said.
