ISLAMABAD, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has called for an inclusive and Afghan-led reconciliation process in Afghanistan as senior diplomats and security officials of both countries have wrapped up talks on wide-range of issues here, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Pakistan's call came at a time when Taliban refused to hold direct talks with the Afghan government and insisted they want to strike a deal first with the United States on troops withdrawal.
The Pakistan and Afghan officials held talks here on Monday under a bilateral mechanism known as the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) established in May 2018.
It aims to provide a comprehensive and structured framework for institutional engagement in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The framework comprises five working groups focused on politico-diplomatic, military-to-military coordination, intelligence cooperation, economy and the Afghan refugee issues.
"The Pakistan side reiterated its commitment to a peaceful, stable, united and prosperous Afghanistan, at peace within and at peace with its neighbors. Pakistan also emphasized that durable peace and stability could be achieved only through an inclusive, Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process," the ministry said in a statement.
Both sides underscored the importance of enhancing linkages in the political, diplomatic, security, trade, economic, cultural, educational, sports and people-to-people domains, the statement said.
It was agreed that the APAPPS working groups will hold meetings over the next few months to maintain a steady momentum under this structured engagement and the next review meeting will be held in Kabul in December 2019.
