News
Monday, July 09, 2012
Trio urges Taliban to enter dialogue* Pakistan, Afghanistan and US agree to work together for ‘inclusive Afghan peace’
* Stress joint effort and sacrifices have decimated Qaeda’s core leadership in region
TOKYO: Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States reiterated on Sunday their call for Taliban to abandon violence and enter a dialogue with the Afghan government.
“We reiterate our call for the armed opposition to abandon violence and enter a dialogue with the Afghan government. We call on all parties to devote their energy to realising this vision, respond in the same spirit, and commit to support an Afghan political process that will result in lasting peace, security, stability, and prosperity for Afghanistan and the region,” said a joint statement issued by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar at the First Ministerial-level Core Group Trilateral Meeting.
The statement said, “Capitalising on the opportunity afforded by the Tokyo conference, which represents the culmination of a period of intensive engagement between Afghanistan and the international community – we convened the first ministerial-level core group meeting today.”
“We reaffirmed that the purpose of the core group is to enhance cooperation between Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States to support an Afghan peace and reconciliation process, and further affirmed that Afghanistan should be a peaceful, secure, stable and prosperous nation living in a peaceful, secure, stable and prosperous region supported by enduring partnerships with the international community,” said the joint statement.
As agreed at Istanbul and Bonn in 2011, and reaffirmed at Chicago and Tokyo in 2012, the surest way to lasting peace and security for Afghanistan and the broader region was through an Afghan political process of peace and reconciliation for Afghanistan, the leaders said, adding that the process should be supported by Afghanistan’s neighbours and by the international community.
“After 30 years of war, all Afghans should be able to live together in peace. Only Afghans can determine how they live together, how the future of their country must be shaped, and how their country should relate to the region and beyond. We are committed to work together to support an inclusive Afghan peace process through which individuals and groups break ties with international terrorism, renounce violence, and abide by Afghanistan’s constitution, including the protections for the rights of all Afghan women and men. As the international community reaffirmed at Bonn and again at Tokyo, these are the necessary outcomes of any negotiation,” the statement said.
It was acknowledged that great effort and sacrifice by the people of Afghanistan had decimated al Qaeda’s core leadership in the region, reducing the threat to international peace and security that led the international community to intervene in Afghanistan in 2001.
The Afghan foreign minister welcomed Pakistan’s and the United States’ support for Afghan peace efforts.
“To build further momentum, we reaffirmed the importance of pursuing multiple channels and contacts with the armed opposition. Pakistan and Afghanistan committed to take full advantage of the upcoming bilateral exchanges, including Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf’s forthcoming visit to Kabul and High Peace Council Chairman Salahuddin Rabbani’s planned visit to Islamabad.” app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk