Pakistan president says peace talks are a ‘watershed’ moment

Chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah met with Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi on Wednesday to discuss progress regarding the current intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha, Qatar.

During the meeting, Alvi stated that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and said a politically negotiated settlement was the only way forward.

Alvi also said the start of long-awaited peace talks was a “watershed” in Afghanistan’s history.

He stressed that the “Afghan leadership must seize this historic opportunity to work together constructively and secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement”.

He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to supporting the Afghan peace process.

Abdullah also met with a delegation of religious scholars in Islamabad on Wednesday – his final day of an official three-day visit.

Among the scholars, he met was Hanif Jalandhari, the general secretary for the federation of Madrassas, who pledged support for the intra-Afghan talks.