Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has praised Pakistan’s role in the ongoing peace process for his country and has said that “Pakistan could play a key role in bringing peace in Afghanistan and now they are doing it.”
“Pakistan is a very important country and Islamabad could play a key role in bringing peace in Afghanistan and now they are doing it,” Hekmatyar said as quoted by Anadolu News Agency.
“I praise Pakistan’s sincere efforts and I am sure they will continue its help to bring peace in our country,” he said.
The Americans are also praising Pakistan’s role in bringing Taliban on the negotiating table, he added.
Hekmatyar arrived in Islamabad for the first time after his landmark deal with the Kabul government in 2016, which ended his 20-year-long self-imposed exile.
This comes as according to two former members of the Taliban, the US and Taliban negotiators are expected to reach to some types of conclusion on a timetable for troop withdrawal as well as intra-Afghan talks in the next round of their meeting which will take place at the end of this month.
This would be the seventh round of the US-Taliban talks which according to the US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, will begin on June 29.
Earlier this month, the Afghan government announced to release almost 900 Taliban prisoners. So far, figures show that almost 400 of the prisoners have been released.
A former Taliban member Abdul Shakoor Mutmaen said the release of the prisoners can have a good impact on the talks.
Announcing the date for the next round of talks, Khalilzad said in a tweet that on Saturday that as per his visits to Afghanistan and Qatar, all sides — the Afghan government, the Taliban, Afghan politicians and members of the public — want “rapid progress”.
