Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday expressed optimism over the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCP) meeting which was held in Islamabad on Monday.
He termed the meeting a positive step towards the reconciliation process, saying that it should be conducted in a meaningful and sustained manner to achieve peace in Afghanistan and the region.
Furthermore, he called for united and coordinated efforts to fight militancy and eliminate terrorism.
This comes at a time when representatives of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China gathered under one roof in Islamabad on Monday, aimed at establishing a roadmap for resumption of peace talks between Afghan government and the Taliban.
At the opening of QCG, Pakistan’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said that no precondition should be attached for peace talks with the Taliban. Moreover, he added that use of military action against the irreconcilable could no precede talks.
Soon after his arrival from Islamabad, Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai who led Afghan side in QCG meeting, told newsmen that Afghanistan expects a sensible change in the peace process within two months since beginning of the four-nation talks.
“Peace is a long process, but Afghanistan believes that we have opportunities in January and February and people must witness change in this time,” he added.
He said that during the quadrilateral meeting he clarified that Afghan people and policymakers do not have patience that they had last year.
The second round of talks will be held in Kabul on January 18th. The Afghan-drafted peace roadmap will be discussed in detail in this meeting, the deputy minister said.
He furthered that doors for peace talks would be open for all groups including the Taliban factions and the Haqqani Network.
He also informed of all possible measure against those groups that stand against the peace process.
However, the Afghan masses and some officials are suspicious about sincerity of Pakistani authorities. The first round of peace talks was stalled when a Pakistani journalist hinted in his article that Mullah Omer is dead.
