UNITED NATIONS, September 18: Pakistan has urged all warring sides in Afghanistan to agree on de-escalation of violence in a bid to create an atmosphere for a negotiated peace process, while emphasizing that there is no military solution to the conflict.
“For many years, Imran Khan, Pakistan’s recently elected Prime Minister, has declared that peace in Afghanistan can be restored only through a negotiated political settlement between the principal parties,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the UN Security Council.
Speaking in a debate on the situation in Afghanistan, she referred to the prime minister’s first address to the nation in which he reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to peace, stability and prosperity in that country. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s first visit abroad after the assumption of power by the new government was to Afghanistan, she said, adding that cooperation between the two countries was a vital component of the endeavour to realize peace and security within Afghanistan and the entire region. Ambassador Lodhi said that Pakistan welcomed the Trump Administration’s acknowledgement that a negotiated political settlement is the best option to bring the US longest war to an end. This, she emphasized, was the course of action that Pakistan had urged for over a decade, as well as by the UN and the international community. – Agencies
