ISLAMABAD – Pakistan does not support any group in Afghanistanincluding Taliban, Islamabad has told Washington and Kabul.
Senior officials at the foreign ministry told The Nation that Pakistan wastrying to convince both the countries about its neutrality.
“We support Taliban talks but we don’t support any group. We only supportpeace,” said one official, citing the recent contacts with the US andAfghanistan.
Another official the US had urged Pakistan to cooperate in the US-Talibandialogue process. He added Afghanistan had not responded ‘positively’ butpromised to ‘work together.’
“Pakistan has been very clear that we will continue to support the Afghanpeace process,” he said.
Earlier, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of Afghanistan’s former warlords, allegedthere is “no doubt” that Pakistan supports the Afghan Taliban.
In an interview, Hekmatyar also expressed hope that talks scheduled thisweek between the Western-backed Kabul government and the Taliban couldprove a significant step towards ending the war.
The US and Afghan officials have long accused Pakistan of providing safehavens for the militants, a claim rejected by Islamabad.
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Hekmatyar said that Pakistan now sees the war in Afghanistan as “moreharmful” than beneficial to its interests, especially because of acrippling financial crisis and growing international pressure on Islamabadto clamp down on the Taliban.
Washington has said Pakistan is playing a positive role in the ongoingUS-Taliban peace talks in Qatar that are aimed at ending the nearly 18-yearwar.
US and Taliban negotiators have held several rounds of talks in the Qataricapital, Doha, culminating in the basic framework of a potential peace dealin which the militants would prevent international terrorist groups frombasing themselves in Afghanistan in exchange of a withdrawal of Americanforces from Afghanistan.
That framework deal is dependent on a political settlement among Afghans,including the Kabul government, the Taliban, and opposition figures.
The Taliban long refused to talk with Kabul, calling it a US “puppet,”although Kabul has said a government delegation will meet the Taliban forintroductory talks in Doha on April 19.
