Pakistan hails Afghan government-Taliban talks

Islamabad, May 3: Pakistan on Sunday welcomed “reconciliation” talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar. An eight-member delegation of the Taliban and the Afghan High Peace Council sat face-to-face in Doha for the second day to share proposals for a solution to problems in the war-torn country, Xinhua news agency reported. “We support any formal or informal talks that lead to reconciliation in Afghanistan,” Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry told reporters. “Pakistan backs every gathering aimed at achieving the goal of peace in Afghanistan,” he said.

However, a Taliban spokesman said their participation in the Qatar conference, organised by Cada-based Pugwash, “should not be misconstrued as peace or negotiation talks”. The Nova Scotia, Cada-based Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an intertiol organisation that works toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. A 20-member delegation from Afghanistan, including High Peace Council spokesman Maulvi Shehzada Shahid and senior member Attaulah Ludin, is attending the meeting after the Taliban refused to join the intra-Afghan dialogue. A two-member team of Hizb-e-Islami (Hekmatyar), the second largest resistance movement in Afghanistan, was also present during the Qatar talks. (IANS)