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Pakistan opposes military solution to Afghan conflict

Xinhua, May 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Pakistan on Tuesday opposed military option for the solution of the Afghan problem, saying this policy could not solve the issue over the past 14 years.

Pakistan's top Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz's comments came days after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani pressed Islamabad to take military action against the Afghan Taliban leaders who Kabul claims are living in Pakistan.

Ghani told the parliament on April 25 that Afghanistan does not "expect Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the negotiation table", a major shift from his previous policy.

The Taliban deadliest attack against a security office in Kabul on April 19 that killed nearly 70 people and injured about 350 forced the Afghan government to prioritise war strategy instead of reconciliation with the Taliban.

Sartaj Aziz, however, said in Islamabad that political dialogue is still a viable option.

"Afghanistan has been insisting that if the peace negotiations do not start, then other option should be tried. But that option has been used for 14 years but it has not produced any result," the Pakistani adviser said.

"Results cannot be achieved in weeks but it takes time. I do not see any other option to bring peace to Afghanistan," he told reporters after he addressed a seminar on "Pakistan's non-proliferation efforts and strategic export control system."

He confirmed the visit to Pakistan by a delegation of the Afghan Taliban's political negotiators, saying that member countries of the quadrilateral group are in contact with the Taliban office in Qatar for peace talks.

The four-way process of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States was launched in December for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

The Taliban had refused to take part in the direct talks with the Afghan government under the Quadrilateral Coordination Group in March. However, the Pakistani adviser said efforts are underway to push for the talks.

The Taliban's so-called annual Spring Offensive, this year named after their leader Mullah Omar, has led to a spike in the violence that further diminished chances of the negotiations.

Aziz said the Taliban's offensive has, however, not changed the ground situation and there is stability in Afghanistan.

"Taliban have failed to control any area in the Spring Offensive and I am hopeful the peace process could begin if the situation on the ground remains," he said.

Some Political watchers in Afghanistan had earlier opined that the Taliban is likely to come to the table after the fighting season is over with the hope to expand control over some more areas. But their efforts have failed so far and there is no change despite the passage of one month after they launched the offensive codenamed "Omari Operations." Enditem