*Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi advised on Friday AfghanPresident Ashraf Ghani to talk to the Taliban and their sympathizers andconvince them to give up violence.*

The Afghan government should accept that the Taliban have support among theAfghans and they are a “reality”, the foreign minister told Al-Jazeera.

“The Taliban and people who are sympathetic to them, they are a reality,”Al-Jazeera quoted Qureshi as saying. “Who are they? They are Afghans. Talkto them, tell them, convince them that they should give up violence andshift from the bullet to ballot.”

The talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government are part of a peaceagreement signed between the US and the insurgent group in February 2020.Pakistan has been facilitating the negotiations between the Taliban and theAfghan government since 2019.

Qureshi also advised Taliban negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to“accept the change” in Afghanistan, saying they should “accept this newreality”.