Pakistan urges resumption of talks with Taliban to find negotiated peace

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday urged the United States (US) and Taliban to re-engage in talks to find a negotiated solution to the decades-long Afghan war.

US President Donald Trump had earlier on Saturday said he cancelled peace talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders after the militant group said it was behind an attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier and 11 other people.

The Foreign Office in a statement said, “We have learnt about the cancellation of President Trump’s meeting with the Taliban and Afghan Government representatives in Camp David. Pakistan has always condemned violence and called on all sides for restraint and commitment to pursue the process.”

“Pakistan has been facilitating the peace and reconciliation process in good faith and as a shared responsibility, and has encouraged all sides to remain engaged with sincerity and patience”.

Pakistan will continue to monitor the developments, the FO said.

“Pakistan reiterates its principled policy stance that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and urges that both sides must re-engage to find negotiated peace from the ongoing political settlement process.

Pakistan looks for optimised engagement following earliest resumption of talks,” the statement read.