ISLAMABAD: At the end of a day-long meeting in Moscow, where the main focus was to promulgate measures to restore peace and stability in Afghanistan, Pakistan said that it was the shared responsibility of all stakeholders to work toward the cause.

Russia hosted the meeting on Friday to pave the way for peace talks in war-torn Afghanistan.

Participants at the meeting candidly expressed their views about the deteriorating security situation in the country and the threat it posed to the region, which have been most affected by the Afghan conflict, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued late on Friday.

“Pakistan delegation noted that the phrase ‘Afghan-owned, Afghan-led’ peace process, coined by Pakistan several years ago, had now been adopted as an international guiding principle in charting the collective way forward to achieving peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan,” the statement said.

It added that the measure also “signified Pakistan’s respect for Afghan sovereignty and the desire to empower the Afghan nation to take its destiny in its own hands.”

The delegation underscored the need for all stakeholders to share the responsibility in helping create favorable conditions for a result oriented peace process, insisting that there was no military solution to the Afghan issue.

“Only a political settlement, fully cognizant of and responsive to the hardcore socio-cultural, political and economic realities of Afghanistan, can restore peace in the country,” the statement said.

Senior officials from China, Iran and Central Asian Republics also participated in the meeting. “It was the first meeting of the Moscow Format with participation of the Afghan High Peace Council representatives and Afghan Taliban delegation from its Qatar political office,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said, adding that “India and the United States were present in the meeting as observers.”

Plans for the meeting were initiated in December 2016 and its attendance gradually increased to 11 countries participating last year.

Meanwhile, in an effort to bring the Afghan peace process to fruition, Zalmay Khalilzad, the special representative appointed by US President Donald Trump began his 12-day trip to the region, with a statement issued this week suggesting that he will travel to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar with an interagency delegation from November 8–20.

“He will meet with Afghan government officials and other interested parties to advance the goal of an intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations that include the Taliban and lead to sustainable peace.. which requires that all Afghans have a say in their country’s future,” the State Department said in its statement.