ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan appreciates Pakistan’s “support for a lasting peace,” acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammed Haneef Atmar said on Sunday, as historic negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban are underway in Doha, Qatar, to end decades of armed conflict in the country.

Intra-Afghan talks began on Saturday, six months later than planned. The discussions are expected to yield a permanent cease-fire and power-sharing arrangement in Afghanistan. Pakistan considers itself one of the facilitators of the talks that helped bring the two sides to the negotiating table. Immediately before the talks, a Taliban delegation was in Islamabad on the invitation of the Foreign Office.

“We appreciate Pakistan’s support for a lasting peace,” Atmar said in a Twitter post, adding that shares the views of Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan “will bring new opportunities for the progress and prosperity of not only Afghanistan but also the region.”

In an earlier tweet, Atmar also expressed his “sincere appreciation” to Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar for India’s “support for peace and the free will of the Afghan people” and “solidarity with Afghanistan.

Islamabad has long been resistant to India increasing its influence in Afghanistan.

As the start of the talks was announced on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan was “deeply gratified” as it had fulfilled its responsibility by facilitating the dialogue. 

“I have underlined for a long time that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and that the only way forward is a negotiated political settlement,” Khan said, “​Through relentless efforts, Pakistan has played a pivotal role in facilitating the Afghan peace process to this juncture. We feel deeply gratified today as we have fulfilled our part of the responsibility.” 

The intra-Afghan negotiations were initially scheduled to begin in March, after a historic Taliban-US deal was signed on Feb. 29, but disagreements over a controversial prisoner exchange — 5,000 held by the Afghan government and 1,000 by the Taliban — hindered efforts to get them started.

The exchange was finalized only on Thursday, when six remaining Taliban inmates were freed by Kabul and landed in Qatar. The move prompted the Taliban to immediately announce readiness to hold the talks.