Afghan reconciliation: Doha process lacks depth, says Fazl

ISLAMABAD:

Hailing Doha initiative of engaging Afghan Taliban into peace talks, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said the process lacks depth. The peace talks must continue however, he added.

Chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and former teacher of many Taliban leaders, Fazlur Rehman stressed Wednesday that Pakistan should be given an active role in the resolution of Afghan problem.

“The present efforts do not appear to be deep-rooted. We must remember that Pakistan is an important player in the Afghan solution,” said Fazl.

He was speaking to journalists after his meeting with UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Afghanistan Jan Kubis who called on him at his residence at parliament lodges.

He added that it was up to the stakeholders to define and devise Pakistan’s role in the process, but it must be done. Fazl said Afghanistan was a regional problem and Pakistan being its immediate neighbour was the most pertinent actor in any solution.

The JUI-F chief said he has conveyed to the UN envoy that his party has always been against use of force and believed in talks and reconciliation. The JUI-F supports the Doha process as it engages Taliban into talks and aims to end conflict, said Fazl.

He said the international community and the US should actively pursue internal reconciliation to bring political stability to Afghanistan. “So that after 2014 US withdrawal, Afghanistan does not go back into civil war,” said Fazl.



Fazl’s spokesperson Jan Achakzai said the UN special envoy dispelled the impression that Pakistan was being bypassed in the process. Kubis assured Fazl that UN would continue its engagement with Pakistan and other regional countries for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan, Achakzai said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2013.