Doha Accord is start of Afghan reconciliation process: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed the Doha peace agreement signed between the US and Afghan Taliban.

In a tweet on Saturday evening, the prime minister said Pakistan is committed to playing its role in ensuring the agreement holds and succeeds in bringing peace to Afghanistan.

The prime minister said this is the start of a peace and reconciliation process to end decades of war and suffering of the Afghan people. He said he has always maintained that a political solution, no matter how complex, is the only meaningful path to peace.

PM Imran Khan said now all stakeholders have to ensure that spoilers are kept at bay. He offered his prayers for peace for the Afghan people who have suffered four decades of bloodshed.

Now all stakeholders have to ensure that spoilers are kept at bay. My prayers for peace for the Afghan people who have suffered 4 decades of bloodshed. Pakistan is committed to playing its role in ensuring the agreement holds & succeeds in bringing peace to Afghanistan.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 29, 2020

The United States and Taliban signed a landmark peace agreement in Doha today bringing an end to the war in Afghanistan. The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and representative of Taliban Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar signed the agreement.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Qatari Emir, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his counterparts from seven countries and representatives from fifty countries.   

Speaking on the occasion, the leader of Taliban delegation expressed full commitment to the agreement.  He said they want unity and prosperity of their country and called upon all factions to make this deal workHe thanked Pakistan for its assistance and support in making the deal successful.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his address said the agreement is a true test of the effort to give peace a chance. He said it will ensure that Afghanistan never becomes a base of terrorists again.

The peace deal lays out a timetable for a full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan within 14 months. The two sides also agreed to swap thousands of prisoners in a confidence-building measure. Direct negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government are expected begin by March 10.