Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that with the peace deal inked in Doha last week between the US and Taliban, “a new ray of hope has emerged” for the decades-long war in Afghanistan to finally end.
His remarks came during a session of the Senate in which he provided a briefing on the peace deal. It came as Afghanistan saw an uptick in violence once more following a brief reprieve from a ceasefire agreement.
At least 20 Afghan soldiers and policemen were killed in Taliban attacks Wednesday, with the US launching an airstrike to ‘defend’ Afghan forces. Qureshi, however, expressed confidence that peace will be secured in Afghanistan.
“The road ahead will be difficult; there will be many hurdles,” he said, adding: “We must unite the various stakeholders and have them realise that a war is not the solution to the situation in Afghanistan.”
The foreign minister said that the use of force has already been tried and now it is time to tread an alternate path — an approach Pakistan had been recommending for a while and had finally been successful in convincing others of.
“Pakistan is not a party to the issues between the US and Afghanistan,” Qureshi was quick to warn. “Our role is that of a facilitator.”
“These decisions have to be made by Afghanistan, as is their right.” He said that the Taliban used to say that their fight is against the coalition forces. “When the possibility of a withdrawal of forces emerged, talks began to take place.”
Qureshi said that as part of the withdrawal process, five military bases will first be vacated and the process will take 14 months to complete. He said that the US had been fearful of being targeted in an attack similar to that of 9/11. “It will take some time for the lack of trust to dissipate.”
Speaking of the release of prisoners, a key component of the peace deal, the foreign minister said that the measure will have to be “two-sided”. He said that the prisoners being held by the Taliban will also have to be released. “We hope that the parties will be able to decide the matter amicably.”
Qureshi said that it will only take this one step for the realization of peace after which other things should naturally follow. “Peace will only be possible when all Afghan parties are on the same page,” he said.
He said that intra Afghan dialogue will soon commence and the offer made by Norway to host the talks is still on the table. “We will hopefully be able to sit down and decide where the talks should be held.”
