Gen Qamar holds talks on Afghan peace process during Bahrain visit

Issues of mutual interest and regional security situation were also discussed with Bahrain leadership, says ISPR

ISLAMABAD:

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has discussed current developments in the ongoing Afghan peace process in multiple meetings with the leadership of Bahrain during his visit to the Gulf state, military said.

The army chief held one-on-one meetings with Commander Bahrain Nation Guard Field Marshal Mohammed Bin Isa Al Khalifa and Bahrain’s National Security Advisor Major General Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Tuesday, military’s media wing, the ISPR, said in a statement on Wednesday.

During the meetings, issues of mutual interest and regional security situation came under discussion, it said. The COAS offered Pakistan's complete support in achieving shared interests in bilateral security cooperation including training and capacity building, it added.

Later, delegation level talks were also held, where current developments in Afghan peace process, border security and necessary steps to be undertaken to facilitate an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process were discussed, according to the statement.

The meeting was seen as significant against the backdrop of renewed diplomat push by the United States to seek an end to the war in Afghanistan.

Also read: Moscow to host Afghan peace talks on 18th

It came a day after the Russian foreign ministry confirmed that the country was set to host a conference of the representatives from Pakistan, China, Iran and the US as well as the Afghan government and the Taliban on March 18 as part of an attempt by Moscow to break deadlock in the slow-moving peace process.

The conference it said would focus on "ways to help advance intra-Afghan talks in Doha, reduce the level of violence and end the armed conflict in Afghanistan and help it develop as an independent, peaceful, self-sufficient state that would be free from terrorism and drug trafficking".

A Foreign Office official said that Pakistan would attend the Moscow meeting as it "supports all efforts that contribute towards peace" in Afghanistan.

Russia is hosting the meeting as part of its diplomatic initiative aimed at developing a "collective mechanism" for the Afghan peace efforts.

Moscow is also pushing for hosting the stalled Intra-Afghan dialogue. The talks that began in Doha in September made slow progress because of differences between the two sides. The situation became further uncertain after the new US administration decided to review the February 29, 2020 deal.