Abdullah says crisis will deepen if peace opportunity is not seized 

Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said on Monday that the crisis in Afghanistan will only intensify if the current, historic, opportunity is not used wisely. 

Speaking at a meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi in Islamabad, Abdullah said the majority of Afghans want the ongoing war in the country to end and for there to be peace and stability. 

He told the Pakistani officials that Afghanistan today is very different to the Afghanistan of 2001 – after the ousting of the Taliban regime. 

He emphasized that government was “committed to supporting national achievements.”

Abdullah thanked Pakistan for its help to get the Taliban to sit around the negotiating tables but said the level of violence, by the Taliban, in the country was way too high. 

He also said terrorism was a mutual threat for regional countries, and that “lasting and dignified peace in Afghanistan is in the interests of all regional and neighboring countries.”

Qureshi meanwhile said after the meeting that Abdullah’s visit will greatly help to strengthen relations with Afghanistan and forge a common understanding on the Afghan peace process.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s steadfast support to the peace process, Qureshi emphasized that Pakistan had always maintained there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict and encouraged all parties to reach a political agreement through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process. 

He said it was now up to the Afghan leadership to seize this historic opportunity to bring an end to the decades-long conflict and secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement.

He also said there was a need to guard against the detrimental role of ‘spoilers’, both within and outside Afghanistan, who do not wish to see the return of peace in the region.

“The Afghan Peace Process is of paramount importance for both Pakistan and Afghanistan and  its success ensures socio-economic prosperity for all. Abdullah’s visit further strengthens the amity and fraternity between our countries,” said Qureshi.