Afghan government representatives and Taliban are expected to meet in a week’s time in a bid to initiate a formal peace and reconciliation process and end more than a decade of bloodshed in the country, Pakistan has said.
Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz yesterday
informed of the meeting while briefing National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
Pakistan last month facilitated a meeting of Afghan High Peace Council’s Secretary Masoom Stanekzai with Taliban representatives in the Chinese city of Urumqi.
He said that another meeting was planned later this month, without specifying the place and date of meeting.
Apparently the two sides would be getting together to discuss the start of the formal peace and reconciliation process. Aziz also said that a major breakthrough in the peace process is likely within three months. It is time for Pakistan to formally acknowledge its role in bringing the warring sides in Afghanistan on the table as pressure mounted on Islamabad to do more in the wake of recent attacks.