- Title: Pakistan says U.S. killing of Taliban chief has 'undermined' Afghan peace talks
- Date: 26th May 2016
- Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (MAY 26, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF PAKISTAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING PAKISTANI FLAG PAKISTAN'S FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF SARTAJ AZIZ ADDRESSING NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN'S ADVISOR ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SARTAJ AZIZ, SAYING: "This particular incident of Mullah Akhter Mansour's death in a drone strike on May 21 has added to the complexity of the Afghan conflict. All indicators confirm that the person killed in the drone strike was Mullah Akhter Mansour who was travelling on a fake identity. The DNA test result will also be available in a day or two." FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN CALLING REPORTER FOR QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN'S ADVISOR ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SARTAJ AZIZ, SAYING: "We believe that this action has undermined the Afghan peace process. On 18 May, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the U.S. and China had agreed that politically negotiated settlement was the most viable option rather than violence, and efforts should continue to bring Taliban to the table. This understanding has not been respected. Earlier in July 2015, talks were scuttled on a key stage when the issue of reduction in violence was to be discussed. As you recall the first meeting was on July 7, and two days before the meeting on July 31, the news of Mullah Omar's death was released, and that scuttled the talks. In less than a year, therefore, the peace process has been scuttled twice." REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN'S ADVISOR ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SARTAJ AZIZ, SAYING: "This drone strike was a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty as well as breach of the principles of the U.N. Charter governing the conduct of the states. We have conveyed our serious concern to the United States on this issue." REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) PAKISTAN'S ADVISOR ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SARTAJ AZIZ, SAYING: "I think it is premature to prejudge how the QCG [Quadrilateral Coordination Group] meeting will move forward. As the new [Taliban] leadership settles down, the four members will make their own contacts and then there will be a collective assessment of how to move this process forward." REPORTERS
- Embargoed: 10th June 2016 13:11
- Keywords: Afghanistan Pakistan Taliban drone United States Mansour
- Location: ISLAMABAD , PAKISTAN
- City: ISLAMABAD , PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
- Reuters ID: LVA0014JG3CXZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Pakistan's foreign policy chief said on Thursday (May 26) that a U.S. drone strike that killed Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhter Mansour had "undermined" the Afghan peace process, while confirming Mansour's body remained in Pakistani custody.
"This particular incident of Mullah Akhter Mansour's death in a drone strike on May 21 has added to the complexity of the Afghan conflict. All indicators confirm that the person killed in the drone strike was Mullah Akhter Mansour who was travelling on a fake identity," Sartaj Aziz told a news conference in Islamabad.
"We believe that this action has undermined the Afghan peace process. On 18 May, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the U.S. and China had agreed that politically negotiated settlement was the most viable option rather than violence, and efforts should continue to bring Taliban to the table. This understanding has not been respected," he added.
The Taliban chief was killed near the Pakistani town of Noshki, in an unprecedented U.S. strike in the southwestern Balochistan province, on Saturday. Previous U.S. drone strikes have almost exclusively taken place in Pakistan's tribal areas, which border Afghanistan.
On Wednesday (May 24), the Taliban announced that they had selected Mullah Haibutallah Akhundzada as Mansour's successor.
Following its last meeting on May 18, Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) condemned the suicide blast in Kabul a month earlier that killed more than 60 people.
Aziz, however, said that it was too early to claim Mansour was responsible for that attack, despite the fact that the Taliban had explicitly claimed responsibility for the bombing shortly after it occurred. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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