Pakistan to continue cooperation for peace in Afghanistan; says Foreign Minister Khar

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said Islamabad would continue cooperation for peace process in Afghanistan, the uneasy neighbor of Pakistan.

In an interview to France’s Le Monde daily‚ the foreign minister said democratic government of Pakistan wants to maintain bilateral relations with neighboring countries. In her view, trilateral conference in Ankara would leave positive impact in the region.

Hina Rabbani Khar further stated that peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan authorities should be held in Kabul and not on foreign soil, adding that Islamabad did not wish to control the Afghan peace process.

“It’s up to the Afghans to choose which method they think is good,” she said. “If they want to go to Washington, they can. But we think that the best solution is to hold the talks on Afghan soil, in Kabul,” she observed.

“The talks and negotiations cannot be held in Paris or in Berlin.” The Taliban are attending talks in Paris on December 19 and 20 on Afghanistan’s future, where officials from President Hamid Karzai’s government will be present. It is being organised by a French think-tank.

The foreign minister said the meeting was critical to how things would pan out in the run-up to Nato troops’ 2014 pull-out and after. In her opinion, the national reconciliation between the Taliban and the government, as well as the capability of the Afghan forces to control their territory, are two key points.

She otherwise ruled out the hypothesis of civil war in the country. The Taliban have officially taken the line that they will not negotiate with the Kabul government, which they consider a puppet of the United States.

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Posted by Web Desk on Dec 13 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.