UNITED NATIONS – Pakistan expressed optimism about prospects for anegotiated end to the conflict in Afghanistan at the United Nations butcautioned that the path to peace will not be easy as several challengesstill have to be overcome.
Speaking in the UN Security Council debate on Afghanistan, Pakistan’sAmbassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi said that grounds for hope have emergedfrom several rounds of talks that have taken place between the US and theTaliban.
“These talks”, Ambassador Lodhi said, “have opened up a real opportunityfor progress towards peace in a country that has been ravaged by conflictand violence for more than a generation”.
Ambassador Lodhi said that Pakistan’s consistent efforts have helped toovercome the decades-old political impasse on the commencement of a peacedialogue.
The Pakistani envoy said that for almost two decades, Pakistan had arguedthat there was no military solution to the conflict and that the onlysustainable path to peace in Afghanistan was through dialogue.
Pakistan was therefore gratified that this is the path that was now beingseriously pursued.
She reminded the 15-member world body that in his very first address to thenation after his election last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan reaffirmedPakistan’s support to peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan.
“My government”, she recalled, “responded positively to US President DonaldTrump’s request last year for help in the Afghan peace process”.
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Detailing Pakistan’s efforts in support of the Afghan peace process, shesaid, “We have not only called for a reduction of violence by all sides butalso for a ceasefire, and taken whatever steps we could to contribute tothat objective”.
She told the 15-member Council that Pakistan’s contribution to the launchof direct US-Taliban talks in Doha, after the initial round in the UAE, hasbeen widely acknowledged.
As the next step, Pakistan released Taliban leader Mullah Abdul GhaniBaradar at the request of its international partners.
Also, she explained that during the six rounds of talks between the US andthe Taliban, Pakistan had maintained a close liaison with the process, andfully supported these peace efforts, with endorsement by the highest levelsof the progress made.
Underscoring the need for initiation of an intra-Afghan dialogue,Ambassador Lodhi said that Pakistan together with other internationalpartners believed that this was an important next step.
