PM Imran Khan telephones Ashraf Ghani to discuss Afghan peace process

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday telephoned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as the two sides held an in-depth discussion on the Afghan peace process, ARY NEWS reported.

During the telephonic conversation, both sides stressed the need to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Prime Minister Khan stressed the political solution of the Afghan dispute.

“The resolution of the dispute should be led by the Afghan leadership,” he said to Ashraf Ghani while extending complete cooperation from Pakistan during the peace process.

The prime minister also lauded the development in intra-Afghan dialogue in Doha and said that Pakistan has played its role in the entire process.

Imran Khan further said that Pakistan would ensure progress towards a broad-based and comprehensive political solution of the issue and a team of Taliban Political Commission (TPC) has visited Pakistan today in a similar context.

It is pertinent to mention here that a delegation of the Taliban Political Commission (TPC), led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday on a three-day visit.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed the delegation at the Foreign Office. Later in a meeting, the two sides discussed progress in the intra-Afghan negotiations that commenced in Doha on September 12.

The delegation will also meet with Prime Minister Imran Khan during their stay in the capital, according to the Foreign Office.

Spokesperson Zahid Hafiz Chaudhri said the TPC delegation last visited Pakistan in August 2020.

The visit of the Taliban Political Commission delegation is part of Pakistan’s policy to reach out to key Afghan parties in the Afghan peace process with a view to facilitating the Intra-Afghan Negotiations, that commenced in Doha on 12 September 2020, he said.