PM Imran Khan, President Ghani discuss Afghan peace process

TASHKENT: Delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday were held on the sidelines of the ‘Central and South Asia 2021: Regional Connectivity: Challenges and Opportunities’ Conference in Tashkent.

The Pakistani delegation was led by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani led his delegation in the talks. Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (DG-ISI) Lieutenant General Faiz also attended the talks.

The current situation of Afghanistan came under discussion between both leaders. Speaking on the occasion, the premier expressed disappointment over the allegations against Pakistan from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

He said to blame Pakistan for what is happening in Afghanistan is extremely unfair.

PM Imran Khan said no country has tried harder to get the Taliban on the dialogue table than Pakistan. Taliban are now seeing victory after the departure of the US and NATO forces, he added.

He said Pakistan is already hosting three million Afghan refugees and due to a shortage of resources Islamabad cannot host more refugees.

Referring to the unresolved disputes in the region, Imran Khan said Kashmir is the core issue between Pakistan and India.

Prime Minister said the huge potential of cooperation remains untapped because of unresolved disputes in the region.

Earlier, addressing the Tashkent conference, prime minister Imran Khan, who is on a two-day visit to Uzbekistan, had said that Pakistan was a victim of the war on terror and has sacrificed over 70,000 countrymen during it.