ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani envoy to the UN told the Security Council that prospects for peace and reconciliation have improved in Afghanistan as a result of recent developments, an official statement issued by the Ministry of Information said on Wednesday.
“A three-day cease-fire between Afghan security forces and the Taliban on Eid Al-Fitr resulted in an unprecedented pause in a war that has raged for almost 17 years,” Maleeha Lodhi said while speaking during the Security Council’s quarterly debate on Afghanistan, adding that even if the cease-fire lasted a few days it marked a “moment of hope and opportunity.”
She said: “The comprehensive observance of the cease-fire by the Taliban also demonstrated that its leadership has control of the movement and is cohesive enough to negotiate a political settlement.”
“The opportunity that was opened up by these developments must now be seized and translated into serious and sustained efforts to promote a political settlement and durable peace in Afghanistan,” Lodhi said.
She reminded the 15-member council that over the years Pakistan has consistently advocated a negotiated settlement as the only viable solution to the decades of conflict and suffering in Afghanistan.
“Almost 17 years of war, waged by the world’s most powerful military forces, have not yielded a military solution,” the Pakistani envoy said, adding that only a negotiated political solution could deliver peace and security.
Lodhi said that the path to peace in Afghanistan was arduous but achievable. As a first step, all parties concerned must commit themselves to a negotiated solution to the conflict.
“This offers the best chance to end the suffering of the Afghan people and restore peace to Afghanistan and stability to the region,” she said.
In her statement, Lodhi said that it was vital to pay attention to the threat posed to Afghanistan, its neighbors and the global community by the presence of Daesh and a conglomerate of terrorists, which includes Al-Qaeda and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
“They need to be defeated urgently and decisively,” she said. “We must not allow these groups to drive Afghanistan into another vortex of violence and instability, which would compound the threat to the region’s security.”
