Reconciliation dialogue between Kabul and Taliban in Islamabad soon

The Pakistan foreign office announced the inaugural round of reconciliation dialogue bet­ween the Afghan government and Taliban would be held in a few days in Islamabad.

Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said the agreement reached at the last meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) countries for possibly opening direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban groups by the first week of March, Dawn online reported.

Zakaria said that efforts for holding the meeting were continuing, but noted that he did not have “any confirmation of the dates of the talks”.

The spokesman said that convening the meeting was a “shared responsibility” of the four countries participating in the quadrilateral process: Afghanistan, Pakistan, US and China.

“The quadrilateral process is continuing satisfactorily and progressing well.… All countries have expressed their satisfaction with the quadrilateral process,” he said.

Zakaria added that QCG efforts for reconciliation in Afghanistan were aimed at ending violence in Afghanistan and establishing lasting peace there.

Last year, Afghanistan witnessed worst violence since 2009 and the trend has continued in 2016.