Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has underlined the need to change behaviours for the success of US-Taliban peace deal.
The declaration was announced on Saturday by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at a ceremony to coincide with the signing in Doha of an agreement between the Taliban and the United States.
In an interview with the BBC, Shah Mahmood Qureshi advised Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to realise his reason ability for the success of the US-Taliban peace deal. “Exchange of prisoners is not one sided.”
He said that the US-Taliban agreement in Doha would never have happened if Pakistan had not convinced everyone that there was no military solution to the 18-year conflict in Afghanistan.
Qureshi said Pakistan had facilitated the accord by persuading both the Taliban and the United States to find a political settlement, adding that getting both sides to see this had not been easy.
“The role of Pakistan for restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan is being lauded by the world.”
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, Islamabad has done whatever it could, now its upto Afghan leadership, how it moves forward on the pact.
Qureshi also said Pakistan played a part in pushing for the negotiation process to restart after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the plug on negotiations in September last year.
