Foreign secretary leads delegation for Afghan peace talks in Oman

MUSCAT: A delegation of Pakistan, led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, is participating in the sixth quadrilateral meeting on Afghanistan peace process that has begun on Monday in Oman’s capital city of Muscat.

The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) comprises Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and the United States. The four-nation moot, that has begun today, aims to revive talks with the Taliban to bring a negotiated peace settlement in the war-torn country.

Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson had also apprised the media about the objective of the quadrilateral meeting. “The prime objective of the talks is to bring the Afghan warring factions to the negotiating table,” FO spokesperson Nafees Zakaria informed media in his weekly briefing in Islamabad.

However, this would be the first meeting of the QCG after Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor’s death in a US drone strike in Balochistan in May 2016.

Previously, the first QCG meeting was held in Islamabad on January 11, 2016 with a similar agenda to revive the Afghan peace process.

Appearing optimistic in achieving the ultimate objective of the four-nation moot, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif remarked: “The quadrilateral arrangement will again be in operation. So, that is something we still hope will… still work.”

These remarks were made during his interaction with foreign media.