ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan needs and expects Pakistan to play a meaningful role in persuading the Taliban to remain engaged in the ongoing peace process and reduce violence, the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad said on Wednesday.
Violence in Afghanistan has escalated sharply in recent weeks as the Taliban have stepped up their attacks against Afghan security forces since the US postponed its troop drawdown to Sept. 11 from a May 1 deadline agreed in talks with the Taliban last year.
The US move also prompted the Taliban to withdraw from a Washington-backed Afghan peace conference in Istanbul, Turkey, which was scheduled for April 24 to fast-track a power-sharing agreement between the group and the Kabul government to end decades of conflict as the US forces pull out.
“It is our expectation that Pakistan will play a meaningful role in encouragement and persuasion of the Taliban in the peace process and to reduce violence. Pakistan’s role is recognized for this purpose,” Ambassador Najibullah Alikhil told Arab News.
He added: “Pakistani side has always emphasized that it has influence over them (Taliban) and we respect this approach that Pakistan has influence.”
Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan, Najibullah Alikhil, speaks to Arab News at the Afghan embassy in Islamabad on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (AN photo)
Pakistan was key in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table when intra-Afghan peace talks began in Doha, Qatar, in September last year.
“We praise Pakistan’s role for paving the way for the start of the Doha peace process,” Najibullah said. “As now we are reaching another phase in the peace process there is a need for Pakistan’s constructive role as a brotherly and neighboring country.”
Last week, US, Chinese, Russian and Pakistani officials met with Taliban representatives in Doha to encourage them to join the Istanbul conference that is expected to be held after Eid Al-Fitr.
“Peace and stability in Afghanistan are in the interests of Pakistan and war in Afghanistan is detrimental for Pakistan,” Najibullah said, adding that Islamabad’s steps for the Afghan peace process over the past eight months have led to improvement in its ties with Kabul.
“The atmosphere of trust has been created to some extent,” he said. “We want to take more steps in this regard.”
