COAS General Qamar Bajwa has warned Washington over confrontation in Afghanistan
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KABUL - Pakistan’s chief of army staff General Javed Qamar Bajwa has warned Washington that confrontation will not help the Afghan peace and reconciliation process, it has been reported.
A spokesman for Pakistani military, Gen. Asif Ghafoor has told The Voice of America, that Gen. Bajwa had ‘candid, frank and without mincing words’ during his meeting with the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
According to Gen. Ghafoor, the army chief reiterated that “cooperation will take us forward; confrontation or coercion will not.”
He said Pakistan re-emphasized that it supports an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process and believes “reconciliation” is the way forward to end the war.
Tillerson last week visited Pakistan and met with the top Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and reiterated President Trump’s message regarding the increased efforts needed by Pakistan to eradicate the militants and terrorists from its country.
“The Secretary reiterated President Trump’s message that Pakistan must increase its efforts to eradicate militants and terrorists operating within the country,” the Department of State said in a statement.
The statement further added “To address those concerns, the Secretary outlined the United States’ new South Asia Strategy and the vital role that Pakistan can play in working with the United States and others to facilitate a peace process in Afghanistan that can bring stability and security to the region.”
