Sherpao urges calm over Afghan peace talks

Aftab Sherpao slams government for poor policies

PESHAWAR: As the United States abruptly pulled the plug on the peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmed Sherpao on Sunday urged Washington and other regional partners and stakeholders to eliminate any mistrust in the peace process apart from taking all possible measures to ensure peace in the region.

A former federal interior minister and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister, Sherpao said this as he met with a delegation from Shangla in Peshawar on Sunday.

Sherpao said that peace can be brought to war-torn Afghanistan through negotiation, adding that the suspension of the US and Taliban talks only promises further bloodshed in the country.

He urged both sides to be patient and to refrain from further violence in the country, adding that it is time to take sane measures for the establishment of peace in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan have been suffering [from violence] for the past four decades and they can ill afford any further bloodshed in the country, Sherpao said.

To resolve issues, he pressed for democratic measures to be adopted to bring about changes. He asked all parties to shed violence for a bright future of the country, adding that peace in the entire region was connected to pace in Afghanistan. He also criticized the incumbent PTI led government for crippling the country’s economy.

Sherpao said that if the government persists with its bad policies, it could push the country to the brink of collapse and added that the PTI-led leadership is not serious about the economic reformation of the country.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2019.