Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday that Pakistan was closely involved in the process that led to the announcement of the upcoming peace deal between the United States and Afghanistan.
Calling the announcement of the peace deal a “historic breakthrough”, Qureshi said Pakistan had helped in constructing a roadmap for peace in Afghanistan. “When US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad visited Islamabad recently, both the prime minister and I held detailed meetings with him regarding the peace process. We constructed a roadmap to peace,” said Qureshi. In a statement released by the Foreign Office, Qureshi pointed out that the Afghan peace process was a complex one and that there was no military solution to the conflict. “The world must understand that the solution to Afghan conflict will only come through a political settlement based on diplomatic negotiations,” the foreign minister said.
What is the peace deal between US & Taliban?
On Friday, the US and the Taliban announced they were set to sign a historic agreement in Doha, Qatar on the 29th of February, that would pave the way to ending America’s longest war. The announcement came hours after Afghanistan said a week-long partial truce across the country would kick off this weekend. If the partial truce goes ahead, it would mark a historic step in more than 18 years of gruelling conflict in Afghanistan. The US has been in talks with the Taliban for more than a year to secure a deal in which it would pull out thousands of troops in return for Taliban security guarantees and commitments. A reduction in violence would show the Taliban can control their forces and demonstrate good faith ahead of any signing, which would see the Pentagon withdraw about half of the 12,000-13,000 troops currently in Afghanistan.