According to the Times Of India, Pakistan has now established a stronghold as a primary contender in the Afghan Peace Process, underway between Afghan Taliban and the United States.
In an article published in the Indian daily titled ‘India elbowed out of Afghanistan peace talks‘, it is emphasised that Pakistan has now firmly taken the position of influence on the table and was busy maneuvering the peace process involving US, Russia and China.
The article further entails how India’s role in the huge development has been negligible and that India had stood on the sidelines while history was being made in the name of the ‘Afghan Peace Process’.
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India has expressed stern reservations on the isolation and has also opposed America’s call to postpone Afghan elections till the ‘Afghan Peace Process’ come to its logical conclusion.
India, who has worked tooth and nail to make itself a big-time player in the regional politics involving Afghanistan, had invested a lot of time and energy into gaining Afghanistan’s loyalties although some argued that their policies remained Kabul centric.
Earlier, China, Russia and the United States jointly welcomed Pakistan to a four-party consultation process and believed that Islamabad can play an important role in facilitating peace in Afghanistan, said a joint statement issued in Washington by Department of States.
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“Pakistan appreciated the constructive efforts by the China-Russia-US trilateral consultation on the Afghan peace process,” it added.
The four countries highlighted the importance of the trilateral consensus on the Afghan peace process reached in Moscow on April 25, 2019, and also welcomed intra-Afghan meetings held in Doha.
“They re-affirmed negotiations should be “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” and further agreed that these negotiations should produce a peace framework as soon as possible. This framework should guarantee the orderly and responsible transition of the security situation and detail an agreement on a future inclusive political arrangement acceptable to all Afghans,” the statement read.
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The four countries “encouraged all parties to take steps to reduce violence leading to a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire that starts with intra-Afghan negotiations.”
“The four sides agreed to maintain the momentum of consultation,” and also decided to invite other important and relevant stakeholders to join on the basis of the trilateral consensus agreed on April 25, 2019, in Moscow.
The statement added that “This broader group will meet when intra-Afghan negotiations start. The date and venue for the next consultation will be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.”
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