Stop blaming Pak, review fragmented approach to Taliban peace talks: Aziz tells Kabul

Islamabad [Pakistan], Jan. 19 (ANI): Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, has asked Afghanistan to stop blaming Pakistan for the deteriorating security situation in the country and advised them to instead review their 'fragmented' approach to peace talks with the Taliban militant group. In an interview, Aziz said that a "lack of political consensus and prevailing ambiguity in Afghanistan about whether to treat Taliban insurgents as terrorists or stakeholders" in national politics had blocked the internationally-backed efforts to start peace talks between the warring sides, reports the Dawn. "Their approach to talks with the Taliban is very, very fragmented. We want the [Afghan] government of national unity to succeed, to establish its writ, we want them to send a clear signal to the Taliban and other groups that the whole world wants them to talk and solve the problem because nobody wants fighting in Afghanistan to continue," Aziz added. He was of the view that years of reliance on the use of military power to resolve the Afghan conflict has so far not yielded results and instead strengthened the Taliban. Talking about the ongoing military Operation Zarb-i-Azb against terrorists and its impact within and across the Afghan border, he said that Pakistan had repeatedly assured the Afghan leadership that much of the terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed. His statement comes days after Afghanistan's High Peace Council (HPC) slammed Pakistan for its controversial role in the Afghan peace process, saying Islamabad has been the key obstruction in the way of purposeful peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban militant group. (ANI)