Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa left for Kabul on Tuesday to hold talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

ISPR Spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said that General Bajwa left for Afghanistan at the invitation of the Afghan President Ghani.

“Pakistan wishes to see a national unity government in Kabul and US/NATO succeeding to bring peace in Afghanistan,” military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations tweeted.

Afghan Eid truce ‘backed by Pakistan, China’

Earlier, it was reported that Pakistan and China have played a key role in brokering the ceasefire deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban on Eid, officials familiar with the development disclosed.

On Saturday, the Afghan Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire over Eidul Fitr, the first such truce by insurgents since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The move came on the heels of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s statement, announcing unconditional ceasefire with the Taliban till the 20th of this month.

Pakistani officials; however, told The Express Tribune that the ceasefire between the Afghan government and insurgents were being discussed quietly for past several weeks.

Kabul has been pushing for a ceasefire with the Taliban as a starting point for the resumption of crucial Afghan reconciliation process.

The Taliban, according to the officials, agreed to the proposal only if China and Pakistan become ‘guarantors.’

 

This article originally appeared in The Express Tribune on June 12, 2018. Original link.

Disclaimer: Views expressed on this blog are not necessarily endorsed or supported by the Center for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad.

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