ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the Biden administration’s renewed push at seeking an end to the war in Afghanistan with a set of new proposals but aired its concerns over giving India a role in the Afghan endgame.
The new US administration recently outlined its strategy regarding Afghanistan. The four-point plan includes a UN-sponsored conference of regional countries, high-level talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Turkey, 90-day reduction in violence and a transitional Afghan government.
The plan is aimed at breaking the stalemate in the peace process as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had warned that the Taliban might take over after the US withdraws its troops from the war-torn country.
On Thursday the Foreign Office formally reacted to the US plan and said Pakistan welcomed the “US efforts to re-energise the peace process and expedite the final political settlement”.
“Pakistan had consistently supported the Afghan peace process. Our positive contribution facilitated the US-Taliban peace agreement and the subsequent intra-Afghan negotiations,” Zahid Hafiz Chaudhri told the media at his weekly briefing.
