Pakistan on Sunday reiterated its firm commitment for lasting peace andstability in Afghanistan as the peace process is making encouragingprogress towards a political solution of the conflict.
“While Pakistan’s efforts are acknowledged and appreciated by the Afghansociety and the international community, we are concerned about somenegative comments which continue to emanate from certain official as wellas unofficial Afghan circles,” Foreign Office spokesperson said in astatement. He said Pakistan would continue to emphasize the mutually agreedfundamental principle that all bilateral issues including security andintelligence matters should be addressed through relevant bilateral forumsand channels.
The spokesperson said appropriate institutional forums were in place forsuch discourse in the relevant working groups of Afghanistan-PakistanAction Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS). In addition, during thevisit of Prime Minister of Pakistan to Kabul in November 2020, the twosides had also agreed on further cementing their contacts on mattersrelated to security and peace process.
The spokesperson stated that public blame game was detrimental to theAfghan peace process as well as to the shared efforts for enhancingbilateral cooperation. Pakistan has continued to emphasize that there wasno military solution to the Afghan conflict and solution of the conflictthrough a political process was the only way forward. Towards this end, hesaid Pakistan has been engaged in serious efforts to facilitate anAfghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process.
During the current year, the spokesperson said Pakistan’s long-heldposition was vindicated and Pakistan’s serious efforts facilitatedimportant breakthroughs in the peace process, including: US-Taliban PeaceAgreement of 29 February; commencement of Intra-Afghan Negotiations on 12September; and agreement among Afghan parties on the Rules and Procedureson December 2.
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The spokesperson said as the negotiations enter an important and criticalphase from January 5, 2021, the negotiators would be focusing on thesubstantive issues relating to a comprehensive future political settlement.“In this delicate phase of the Intra-Afghan Negotiations, it is importantfor the negotiating parties to avoid accusations and to demonstrate wisdom,sagacity and vision for the larger objective of lasting peace and stabilityin Afghanistan,” he added.
The Foreign Office spokesperson reiterated that Pakistan had also continuedto express its deep concern at the increasing level of violence inAfghanistan during the current year. Prime Minister Imran Khan, on severaloccasions, has reiterated his calls for reduction in violence leading toceasefire, he said. He emphasized that it was important to underline theneed for Afghan government to take pro-active measures to fulfill itsresponsibility for internal security, law and order and protection ofAfghan lives.
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