ISLAMABAD – Pakistan achieves a big diplomatic success at the internationalfront on Afghanistan endgame.

The United States, China and Russia jointly welcomed Pakistan to thefour-party consultation process aimed at ending the 18-year-old conflict inwar-torn Afghanistan, said a joint statementlinkby the US Department of State.

“Pakistan can play an important role in facilitating peace in Afghanistan.Pakistan appreciated the constructive efforts by the China-Russia-UStrilateral consultation on the Afghan peace process,” the statement read.

In the moot held in Beijing on July 10 and 11, the four sides exchangedviews on the prevailing security situation and discussed joint efforts thatare central to a political settlement to secure peace, stability andprosperity in the region.

Recognising Pakistan’s role in the Afghan endgame, the four sidescollectively encouraged all parties to take steps to reduce violenceleading to a “comprehensive and permanent ceasefire” in the country ravagedby decades of war.

The communique, released after months of peace negotiations in Doha,emphasises the significance of the trilateral consensus on the Afghansettlement reached in Moscow on April 25.

“All sides welcomed recent positive progress as the crucial partiesconcerned have advanced their talks and increased contacts with eachother,” the statement continued.

During the course of the consultations, the four nations aim to secure “anorderly transition of the security situation and detail an agreement on afuture inclusive political arrangement acceptable to all Afghans”.

They re-affirmed negotiations should be ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned’ andfurther agreed that these negotiations should produce a peace framework assoon as possible.

The major diplomatic development comes days after the White Houseconfirmed the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to US.