Afghan diplomat lauds Pakistan role in peace talks
\nTLTP
\nISLAMABAD
\nAfghanistan\u2019s newly appointed special envoy for Pakistan has had put \u201cmending political relations\u201d between the two estranged nations as one of his top priorities.
\nMohammed Umer Daudzai has said that his primary focus would be to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan and maintain strong ties with Pakistan, especially after Islamabad\u2019s key role in the Afghan peace process earlier this year.
\nIn an exclusive interview to a Saudi news outlet, the diplomat said: \u201cTwo areas have been identified to focus on with renewed vigour, such as lasting peace in Afghanistan and cementing Pak-Afghan bilateral ties in economic, social, political and other areas.\u201d
\nIn order to achieve these aims, he said, efforts would be intensified \u201cto mend political relations\u201d between the neighbouring countries.
\nPakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,600-kilometer porous border and have been at odds for years. Bonds between them have been particularly strained due to a deep mistrust and allegations of cross-border infiltration by militants.
\nDaudzai said his immediate priority would be to focus on \u201cpolitical reconciliation\u201d between the two countries, especially in the backdrop of a historic peace agreement signed in February this year when Pakistan played a crucial role in facilitating a troop withdrawal deal between the US and the Taliban to end the decades-old Afghan conflict. \u201cAfghanistan needs political reconciliation which the Afghan government has already been working on to achieve bottom-up harmony,\u201d he added.
\nDaudzai\u2019s appointment Monday by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took place days after Islamabad chose Mohammed Sadiq as Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan\u2019s special representative for Afghanistan.
\nReiterating the need to maintain strong bilateral ties with all of its neighbours, Daudzai said Pakistan\u2019s role is of paramount importance to Afghanistan.
\n\u201cPakistan has a positive role in the US-Taliban peace talks, and now Islamabad could play a highly significant role in the imminent intra-Afghan talks. I will explore all options for a level-playing field for the success of all these initiatives,\u201d he said, referring in part to crucial peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban which were delayed due to a stalemate in a prisoner exchange program \u2013 a key condition of the Feb. 29 peace deal.
\nUnder the agreement, up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and around 1,000 government prisoners were to be freed by March 10. So far, Afghanistan has released 3,000 prisoners, while the Taliban have freed 500. Daudzai said that while dates had yet to be finalized, the intra-Afghan dialogue could begin \u201cwithin weeks.\u201d
\nHe added: \u201cA date for intra-Afghan talks hasn\u2019t been identified yet because there is a stalemate on prisoners\u2019 release. But I am sure they (the talks) will be kicked off within weeks.\u201d
\nExperts say Daudzai\u2019s appointment could give \u201cfresh momentum\u201d to the stalled process and revitalize ties between the two estranged neighbors.
\n\u201cMohammed Sadiq\u2019s appointment…could lead Kabul-Islamabad to a close liaison and better coordination,\u201d Irfanullah Khan, an MPhil scholar and expert on Afghan affairs, told Arab News.
\nDaudzai said that he would be visiting Islamabad to kickstart the process as soon as the coronavirus disease-related travel restrictions were eased.
\nPrior to being appointed as the special envoy, he had served as Afghanistan\u2019s ambassador to Pakistan from April 2011 to August 2013. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Afghan diplomat lauds Pakistan role in peace talks TLTP ISLAMABAD Afghanistan\u2019s newly appointed special envoy for Pakistan has had put \u201cmending political relations\u201d between the two estranged nations as one of his top priorities. Mohammed Umer Daudzai has said that his primary focus would be to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan and maintain strong ties […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n