Pakistani president opposes military solution to Afghan conflict

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain said on Wednesday that there was no military solution to the problem in Afghanistan and emphasized the need for political dialogue to resolve the issue.

The comments came amid increased violence in Afghanistan after the Taliban refused to join the peace talks and launched their annual fighting season last month.

Pakistan encouraged the Taliban to send a delegation of its Qatar-based Afghan representatives to Islamabad in late April to discuss prospects for peace talks. However, the Afghan government also did not sent its own delegation following the April 19 deadly attack in Kabul.

"Pakistan is of the view that peace and stability in Afghanistan is imperative for peace in the region. This objective can be achieved through reconciliation among the stakeholders and there is no military solution to this problem," Hussain told the parliament.

He also referred to the efforts by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group of Afghanistan - China, Pakistan, the United States and Afghanistan - to facilitate talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

"Although some recent incidents in Afghanistan have hindered this process, we are still confident that these efforts will succeed," the Pakistani president said.

Senior diplomats from the QCG group met in Islamabad last month and agreed that "violence serves no purpose and peace negotiations remain the sole option for a political settlement in Afghanistan."

The president also touched upon internal and foreign affairs in his address that marked the beginning of new parliamentary year with a special focus on the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

He said the current positive indicators will encourage foreign investors and accelerate the country's economic progress, which will be further boosted by the CPEC.

"At this juncture of our history, we need national consensus and solidarity, the significance of which is even greater in the context of CPEC. There is no weight in the reservations expressed by certain quarters regarding the Corridor," Hussain told the parliament.

He said the schedule of the CPEC clearly shows the project is not for the benefit of any particular government, political party or group of politicians but purely a national project.

"It is responsibility of the nation to remove every internal and external obstacle in the way of its implementation," he stressed.

(APD)