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ISLAMABAD, (MANEND NEWS): Pakistan says it considers the United
States a friend and wants broad based relations with it to achieve the
shared objective of peace and prosperity in the region and beyond.
At his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Friday, Foreign Office
Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri Pakistan and the United States
have a history of close cooperative relations which has served the
interests of both the countries.
He pointed out that both the countries have convergence of views and
interests on a number of key issues including the ongoing Afghan
Peace Process. We both believe that there’s no military solution to the
conflict in Afghanistan and we both want to see peace in Afghanistan.
He said both Pakistan and the United States support an inclusive,
broad-based and comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan
through a process that is owned and led by Afghan themselves.
Meanwhile in response to media query regarding U.S. considering
Pakistan good only to clear the mess in Afghanistan, FO Spokesperson
Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Pakistan and the United States have a
history of close cooperative relations. This cooperative relationship has
served the interests of both the countries.
“We have convergence of views and interests on a number of key
issues including the ongoing Afghan Peace Process. We both believe
that there’s no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and we
both want to see peace in Afghanistan” he said.
Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that both Pakistan and the United States
support an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political
settlement in Afghanistan through a process that is owned and led by
Afghan themselves.
He said that Pakistan played a key role in facilitating the US-Taliban
agreement for Peace in Afghanistan in February last year.
“We consider the United States a friend and want broad-based
relations to achieve our shared objective of peace and prosperity in the
region and beyond. We have repeatedly stated that neither should
Pakistan be looked at through the prism of another country, nor should
our relations be viewed narrowly. We want to build long term, broad-
based, comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnerships rather than
having transactional relations” Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.
He said that Pakistan will take all such decisions and pursue policies
that are in our national interest and contribute to peace and prosperity
in the region and beyond.
Meanwhile in response to media query on the Extended Troika
meeting, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that a meeting of the Extended
Troika including Special Envoys of Pakistan, US, China and Russia was
held in Doha on 11 th August.
He said that the members of the Extended Troika discussed the
deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and explored ways of
expediting the intra-Afghan peace talks for achieving an inclusive
political settlement and bringing an end to the four decades long
conflict in Afghanistan.
Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that the delegations of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan led by Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Taliban led
by Mullah Bradar also had interaction with the Extended Troika. The
Extended Troika countries broadly conveyed following messages to the
Afghan sides:
• There was a need for urgent measures to reduce violence leading to
a ceasefire.
• There was no military solution to the Afghan conflict.
• The Afghan sides should put forward their peace plans on priority
basis so that progress is made towards a political roadmap.
• There is a need for all sides to respect human rights and not indulge
in human rights violations.
Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Pakistan attaches importance to the
role of Extended Troika for bringing lasting peace and stability to
Afghanistan. Pakistan will continue to engage in this platform to
undertake collective efforts to expedite the peace process, he said.
