Pakistan to facilitate Afghan-Taliban peace talks

Islamabad: Afghanistan's peace and prosperity were essential for Pakistan's own security, Adviser to prime minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said.

While attending an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he reiterated Pakistan's solidarity with Afghanistan and expressed hope that the Afghan peace process would be resumed soon, Dawn online reported on Sunday.

He said Pakistan was ready to facilitate peace talks, if the Afghan government desired so.

Pakistan's efforts to persuade the Afghan Taliban to participate in peace talks should not, however, be interpreted as indirect endorsement of the current surge of violence in Afghanistan, he said.

Aziz was speaking at a high-level event "Afghanistan's Peaceful Reconstruction and Regional Cooperation", co-hosted by Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and US Secretary of State John Kerry. It was held on Saturday.

A statement issued after the event expressed long-term support for political process, economic reconstruction, security and stability, regional cooperation as well as peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.