PESHAWAR - The planned pullout of nearly 7,000 US troops from Afghanistan was a demand of Taliban, says Pakistan’s foreign minister.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed President Donald Trump’s initiative to withdraw half of US troops from Afghanistan, saying the decision was good for Afghan peace talks.
While hailing recent US-Taliban talks in Abu Dhabi, the minister told reporters in Multan Pakistan was taking part in peace talks with Afghanistan without any conditions.
Qureshi said Pakistan had released several Taliban figures in an attempt to make the political atmosphere in the region conducive to the dialogue between the US and the Taliban.
Islamabad was facilitating the dialogue so that peace could be restored to Afghanistan, he said, adding he had twice visited Kabul to achieve objective.
He met the Afghan president, the chief executive and the foreign minister during last week’s recent visit to the neighbouring country. He said a final decision about the peace initiatives would be taken by the Afghans themselves. (Pajhwok)