ISLAMABAD — Pakistani special envoy on Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, said on Friday he had met representatives of the Afghan Taliban in Qatar on Wednesday to discuss upcoming intra-Afghan talks and reaffirm Pakistan’s continued role as a “facilitator” in the peace process.
Last week, Afghanistan’s government and the Taliban said they had agreed that Doha would be the venue for the first meeting in their peace talks, known as the intra-Afghan dialogue — the first high-level meeting between the two sides after years of fighting.
No date has been announced for the meeting, but it is expected to take place after the two sides settle differences on the release by the Afghan government of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
In Sadiq’s first meeting with Taliban political representatives since his appointment as special envoy on Afghanistan earlier this month, he met the head of the Taliban political office, Mullah Abdul Ghani Bradar, and other senior Taliban leaders and discussed the United States-brokered reconciliation process aimed at ending more than 18 years of war in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan will continue to play a role as facilitator for reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan,” Sadiq told Arab News on his return from Qatar on Friday, adding that Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s recent visit to Kabul had “given a new impetus” to Pakistan’s push for peace.
The United States signed a troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban in February, but its attempts to usher the insurgent group toward peace talks with the Afghan government have been mired in setbacks. Violence, which surged in March and April, and disagreement over the Taliban’s demand that all 5,000 prisoners be released, have also blocked progress toward resolving the conflict, in which Pakistan is considered a key regional player.
“Mullah Bradar said the release of prisoners according to the 28th February accord [with the US] would be a stepping stone to immediately start intra-Afghan negotiations,” Sadiq said.
He said Pakistan considered Doha a convenient venue for the talks but it was up to the main stakeholders, the Afghan government and the Taliban, to make a final decision on the location.
“On it’s part, the government of Pakistan is fully committed to supporting the peace process,” Sadiq said.
Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen did not reply to questions seeking comment.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told media on Thursday the group still insisted that all 5,000 prisoners on the list had to be released for talks to begin.
The Afghan government in recent weeks has released around 3,000 of the prisoners and is prepared to set free all but a few hundred, Reuters reported. The Taliban has also released hundreds of prisoners.
Included in the contentious group are prisoners involved in large-scale attacks, such as the 2017 truck bombing near Germany’s embassy in Kabul, which killed more than 150, according to Reuters. The Taliban deny high-profile attackers are on their list.
Pakistani special envoy discusses intra-Afghan talks with Taliban in Qatar
https://arab.news/82t97
Pakistani special envoy discusses intra-Afghan talks with Taliban in Qatar
- Mohammad Sadiq says Pakistan committed to playing the role of facilitator in the US-brokered peace process
- Disagreement over Taliban’s demand for the release of 5,000 prisoners has blocked progress toward resolving the conflict
Islamabad facilitating thousands of stranded Pakistanis in Gulf amid Iran conflict, FM says
- Pakistani religious pilgrims, visitors are being evacuated via land routes due to airspace shutdowns
- Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says ‘our consistent message is de-escalation, restraint and return to dialogue’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that Islamabad was working round the clock to assist thousands of Pakistanis stranded in Arab Gulf countries, reiterating his country’s readiness to facilitate diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
Tensions in the region heightened on Saturday following coordinated strikes by the US and Israel against Iran, diminishing prospects of a peaceful settlement of Tehran’s long-running dispute with Western countries and Tel Aviv over its nuclear program.
Tehran subsequently targeted American bases in Gulf states, including the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, prompting their governments to issue condemnations. The Saudi foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Iran’s drone attack on the US embassy building in Riyadh.
Describing the Gulf situation as “very fluid,” Dar said regional airspace shutdowns had forced Pakistani religious pilgrims and visitors in Gulf states, also home to 4.5 million Pakistani expatriates, to mostly rely on land routes for their exit.
“The safety of Pakistanis abroad and the sovereignty of Pakistan remain our foremost priorities... Our crisis management unit is operational 24 hours to facilitate the stranded Pakistanis,” he said at a media briefing in Islamabad on Tuesday, adding that Pakistani missions in Tehran, Zahedan, Mashhad, Riyadh, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait City and Manama were actively assisting nationals.
“If someone’s visa is expiring, as a visitor, they’re are getting fully cooperated. Similarly, if people are transiting from Saudi Arabia to other countries by road, then the other Gulf countries are also facilitating and helping them.”
Around 35,000 Pakistanis were currently in Iran and evacuation through Azerbaijan remained another viable option for those in northern Iran. So far, 64 Pakistanis have crossed into Azerbaijan, with dozens already flown onward, including 42 who reached Lahore on March 2, according to Dar.
Flights between Pakistan and Azerbaijan remain operational and Baku is providing visa-on-arrival and logistical support to stranded Pakistani nationals.
Dar said 4,543 Pakistani visitors were stranded in the UAE and around 1,400 in Qatar due to the conflict and airspace disruptions, adding that Saudi Arabia, home to more than 2 million Pakistani expatriates, remained relatively stable, with partial air operations continuing via Oman.
Land corridors between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Qatar were being widely used and travelers were being allowed to transit by road, he said, thanking authorities in these countries for facilitating Pakistani nationals.
ISLAMABAD’S DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS FOR PEACE
The foreign minister said he had been in contact with foreign ministers from Turkiye, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Oman as well as European Union representatives over the past three days to help de-escalate the tensions.
“Our consistent message is de-escalation, restraint and return to dialogue,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is personally overseeing the situation and has convened Pakistani parliamentary leaders from all parties for a detailed briefing, he added.
In discussions involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio prior to the US-Israeli strikes, Dar said, both Oman and Islamabad had been considered potential venues for US-Iran talks and Pakistan had conveyed that it was “fully ready” to host negotiations.
“Islamabad is available for any mediation or facilitation,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s policy did not support a regime change in Iran and focused solely on dialogue and regional stability.
