Pakistan urges Afghan government to create 'favourable environment' for intra-Afghan dialogue

Pakistan on Tuesday called on the Afghan government to create a "favourable environment" for intra-Afghan dialogue, warning that the peace and reconciliation process with Taliban would not move forward if any side showed "stubbornness".

Mar 03, 2020
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Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday called on the Afghan government to create a "favourable environment" for intra-Afghan dialogue, warning that the peace and reconciliation process with Taliban would not move forward if any side showed "stubbornness".

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a statement called on President Ashraf Ghani to abide by a prisoner swap clause in the US-Taliban peace deal, the rejection of which saw the Taliban resume attacks on Afghan forces in the northeast of the country.

“It is the responsibility of the Afghan leadership to create a favourable environment to take the talks forward," Qureshi said.

The intra-Afghan negotiations are due to begin March 10 according to a US-Taliban deal signed in Doha on Saturday, but a dispute over a prisoner swap has raised questions about whether they will go ahead.

The agreement includes a commitment for the Taliban to release up to 1,000 prisoners and for the Afghan government to free around 5,000 insurgent captives -- something the militants have cited as a prerequisite for talks but which President Ghani has refused to do before negotiations start.

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