Pak-Afghan rapprochement: Kerry brokers fence-mending meeting in Brussels
Talks expected to give fresh impetus to Taliban reconciliation process.
Foreign Office on Monday confirmed that General Kayani and Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani would be travelling to Brussels for the trilateral core group meeting.
ISLAMABAD:
In an effort to move the Afghan reconciliation process into higher gear, US Secretary of State John Kerry will host a meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Brussels on Wednesday.
The three-way talks are being held at the sidelines of the Nato foreign ministers’ conference. Held amid strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul, the talks are aimed at injecting renewed vigour into the reconciliation process with the Taliban.
A Foreign Office statement issued on Monday confirmed that General Kayani and Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani would be travelling to Brussels for the trilateral core group meeting. During the meeting, matters relating to peace, stability and national reconciliation in Afghanistan will be discussed, according to the statement.
Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry told The Express Tribune that Pakistan has consistently supported and facilitated an “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.” Islamabad is convinced that a peaceful, stable, prosperous and united Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan and the region, he added.
Confirming the meeting, a separate statement issued by the Afghan president’s spokesperson said that the meeting would discuss the fledgling Afghan peace process.
Karzai’s chief spokesperson Aimal Faizi said that Kerry had arranged the trilateral meeting in an effort to mend relations between the two neighbouring countries following weeks of tension over border disputes and the stalled peace process.
On Sunday, senior officials from Pakistan and the United States held talks to break the deadlock in efforts to reach out to the Afghan Taliban for a peaceful end to a decade-long war. The talks were attended by US special envoy for the region David Pearce and General Kayani.
A senior military official, who asked to remain anonymous, said that despite apparent tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, efforts to bring Taliban to the negotiating table had made some headway. “We believe the peace process is once again back on track,” the official added, expressing optimism that the talks in Brussels would help give new impetus to what is seen as a fragile peace process.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 23rd, 2013.
In an effort to move the Afghan reconciliation process into higher gear, US Secretary of State John Kerry will host a meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Brussels on Wednesday.
The three-way talks are being held at the sidelines of the Nato foreign ministers’ conference. Held amid strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul, the talks are aimed at injecting renewed vigour into the reconciliation process with the Taliban.
A Foreign Office statement issued on Monday confirmed that General Kayani and Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani would be travelling to Brussels for the trilateral core group meeting. During the meeting, matters relating to peace, stability and national reconciliation in Afghanistan will be discussed, according to the statement.
Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry told The Express Tribune that Pakistan has consistently supported and facilitated an “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.” Islamabad is convinced that a peaceful, stable, prosperous and united Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan and the region, he added.
Confirming the meeting, a separate statement issued by the Afghan president’s spokesperson said that the meeting would discuss the fledgling Afghan peace process.
Karzai’s chief spokesperson Aimal Faizi said that Kerry had arranged the trilateral meeting in an effort to mend relations between the two neighbouring countries following weeks of tension over border disputes and the stalled peace process.
On Sunday, senior officials from Pakistan and the United States held talks to break the deadlock in efforts to reach out to the Afghan Taliban for a peaceful end to a decade-long war. The talks were attended by US special envoy for the region David Pearce and General Kayani.
A senior military official, who asked to remain anonymous, said that despite apparent tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, efforts to bring Taliban to the negotiating table had made some headway. “We believe the peace process is once again back on track,” the official added, expressing optimism that the talks in Brussels would help give new impetus to what is seen as a fragile peace process.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 23rd, 2013.