Pakistan’s Army Chief of Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, who visited Kabul on Tuesday, held talks with President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, and discussed peace efforts and Pakistan’s role, according to government statements.
A statement by the Presidential Palace said that President Ghani and Gen. Bajwa discussed Pakistan’s support for the peace process, and also discussed how “the soil of either country should not be used against the other.”
Bajwa said in the meeting with President Ghani that his country will support an independent and democratic Afghanistan, the Palace said.
The statement added that more details from the meeting will be made public through a joint statement from the foreign ministries of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Abdullah said in a statement that he had productive talks with Bajwa and he (Abdullah) stressed the unique opportunity to further the cause of peace in Afghanistan and stability in the region as the High Council for National Reconciliation and Afghan leaders take necessary steps toward intra-Afghan negotiations.
“Gen. Bajwa expressed Pakistan’s support for our efforts and for the earliest possible start of intra-Afghan talks,” Abdullah said. “I told him that we are ready to engage with the Taliban on our common issues and to end the conflict and live together in peace. I reiterated Pakistan’s constructive role in this regard.”
Bajwa’s meeting comes after his meeting with US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Islamabad this weekend.
Khalilzad is currently in Doha, from where he will visit Kabul to discuss with Afghan leaders the next practical steps in the peace process, including the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations, according to a statement by the U.S. State Department.
The powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.
The top Generals” visit to Afghanistan was apparently an effort to provide help in solving the Afghan problem by arranging intra-Afghan talks involving the Taliban and Afghan government officials, sources said.
