Pakistan major beneficiary of peace in Afghanistan: PM Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his maiden visit to Kabul on Thursday was “another step towards conveying Pakistan's commitment to peace in Afghanistan”.

In a two-part Tweet from his official handle on Friday, the premier said he always believed that peace in Afghanistan can only be achieved through political means and there was no military solution to conflict in the war-torn country.

“My visit to Kabul was another step towards conveying Pakistan's commitment to peace in Afghanistan. I have never believed in military solutions which is why I always believed that in Afghanistan peace will be achieved through political dialogue,” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

PM Imran during his day-long visit to Afghanistan pledged that Pakistan would do everything it could to help reduce the spiralling violence and restore lasting peace and stability in the war-torn neighbouring country.

He in a follow-up tweet said after Afghans, Pakistan has the greatest stake in this peace “as it will allow for connectivity and trade, bringing prosperity to both Afghans and Pakistanis.”

“Our people in the tribal areas, who have suffered the ravages of the war in Afghanistan, will especially benefit from peace and trade,” he added.

The premier’s maiden visit to Kabul since taking office comes amid an upsurge in attacks across Afghanistan despite the Kabul government negotiators and the Taliban launching peace talks in the Qatari capital Doha in September.

"Despite the talks in Qatar, the level of violence is rising, so my idea of choosing this time to come was to assure you that Pakistan will do everything - whatever is possible we will do - to help reduce this violence and in fact move towards a ceasefire," the prime minister said at a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace.