Pakistan ‘Hopeful’ Of Peace Talks

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پنجشنبه 16 ثور 1395 ساعت 11:49 نوشته شده توسط News Agencies

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Pakistani officials are hopeful about the prospects of talks between Taliban and the Afghan govement following a recent visit by Taliban representatives from Qatar to Islamabad.

Local media reports that although the talks did not yield any breakthrough results, officials were left hopeful.

"The Taliban did not say no,... they are now introspecting and reassessing the situation," a senior official said in a background discussion on the Taliban visit, reported Dawn news.

According to the news outlet, a three-member delegation from Taliban's political office in Qatar comprising Shahabuddin Dilawar, Jan Muhammad Madni and Mullah Abbas visited Pakistan last week for "exploratory meetings" with Pakistani officials.

The official said Taliban's future strategy might depend on the situation of war in Afghanistan and Afghan govement's position vis-à-vis peace negotiations.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, while talking to reporters at the Institute of Strategic Studies a day earlier, said that although Taliban had announced their spring offensive, they had not undertaken any major operation, which gave hope that "if the ground situation remains stable, peace talks may commence soon," reported Dawn news.

However, reports indicate that if Kabul showed more clarity in its position on talks, the Taliban could be wooed back to the negotiating table.

The Taliban rejected plans to join peace talks in early march following a series of meetings by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) which drew up a road map for negotiations between Afghanistan govement and the Taliban.

However, Dawn news reported that the Pakistani officials did not give any timeframe for possible talks between the two, but said preliminary contacts for talks might happen, which might eventually help.

Kabul took steps recently to harden its stance against both the Taliban and Pakistan following a deadly truck bombing in the Afghan capital last month which killed 64 people and wounded over 340 others.

Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of harboring terrorists and allowing them to plot attacks from within the neighboring country.

However, following the meeting between Taliban members and Pakistani officials, Aziz rejected calls by Afghanistan for use of force against Taliban saying it was unfeasible and reconciliation efforts needed to be given time.

"Our position has been that the military option has been tried for 14 years, but has failed to resolve the issue. Reconciliation cannot succeed in two or four weeks. We do not see any other way for achieving peace," he said.

Pakistan meanwhile also contends that any future course of action, including the option of the use of force against the Taliban, would have to be decided by the QCG through consensus, reported Dawn.

The four-nation grouping, made up of representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the U.S, has not met since it failed to hold talks as per the agreed time frame in March, but Aziz reportedly said that consultations were taking place for scheduling the next meeting.

The official said the QCG would meet whenever the future direction on Afghanistan peace had been decided.

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