ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister said on Saturday the country welcomed the US-Taliban peace agreement in a series of Twitter posts shortly after the historic deal was signed in Doha.

The Doha Accord has been two years of negotiations in the making, and aims to end the 19 year conflict-- America’s longest war-- that has marred Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001 by a US-led invasion.

“We welcome the Doha Accord signed between US & the Taliban. This is the start of a peace and reconciliation process to end decades of war & suffering of the Afghan pople. I have always maintained that a pol solution, no matter how complex, is the only meaningful path to peace,” Khan tweeted.

“Now all stakeholders have to ensure that spoilers are kept at bay,” he said in a separate post and added: “Pakistan is committed to playing its role in ensuring the agreement holds & succeeds in bringing peace to Afghanistan.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was present in Doha and representing Pakistan at the signing ceremony said the agreement carried “immense importance” for the region and beyond, in a statement issued by the foreign office.

According to the statement, FM Qureshi said in his remarks after the ceremony, that the Peace Agreement reflected a significant step forward by the US and Taliban in advancing the ultimate aim of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. He also expressed hope intra-Afghan negotiations would be the ‘next logical step’ after Saturday’s signing.

Earlier, while addressing the Pakistani diaspora in Qatar, Qureshi said that the peace agreement between the US and Afghan Taliban would 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.