AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN/PAKISTAN Pakistan hails first official talks between Afghan government and Taliban as "breakthrough"

Record ID: 147823

  • Title: AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN/PAKISTAN Pakistan hails first official talks between Afghan government and Taliban as "breakthrough"
  • Date: 9th July 2015
  • Summary: ISLAMABAD , PAKISTAN (JULY 9, 2015) (REUTERS) CAMERAMEN ARRIVING AT FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDING PAKISTAN FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN QAZI KHALILULLAH ARRIVING FOR WEEKLY BRIEFING REPORTERS SITTING NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAKISTAN FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN, QAZI KHALILULLAH, SAYING: "It is for the first time that direct talks were held between the represen
  • Embargoed: 24th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAADY4UQT89O8IXBN7UTO04E168
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said on Thursday (July 9) that the first official peace talks between the Afghan Taliban and the government in Kabul concluded with an agreement to meet again after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
    Khalilullah also hailed the talks as a "breakthrough", echoing Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
    "It is for the first time that direct talks were held between the representatives of Afghan government and representatives of Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan. This is a breakthrough, and both sides have agreed to have the next round after Ramadan," he said at a news conference held in Islamabad.
    Pakistan hosted the meeting in a tentative step towards ending more than 13 years of war in neighbouring Afghanistan, where the Taliban have been trying to re-establish their hard-line Islamist regime after it was toppled by U.S.-led military intervention in 2001.
    Observers from the United States and China also attended.
    According to a senior Pakistani official familiar with the talks, delegates met in Murree, a hill resort near Islamabad, at 10 p.m (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, after breaking fast. The meeting then went on until 4 a.m. (2300 GMT) on Wednesday (July 8).
    The next round of talks is provisionally planned for August 15 and 16 in Doha, capital of Qatar, according to sources close to the participants.
    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has reached out to Islamabad since taking office last year, and Pakistan has pledged to pressure Taliban leaders, many of whom are believed to be hiding in the country, to come to the negotiating table.
    Although these talks are considered a "breakthrough", however, it was far from clear whether the budding peace process could end an escalating conflict that kills hundreds of Afghans every month.
    Sharif cautioned that the talks would be difficult and said Afghanistan's neighbours and the international community should ensure "nobody tries to derail this process".
    White House spokesman Josh Earnest meanwhile said the United States welcomed the talks, calling them "an important step toward advancing prospects for a credible peace", and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China backed the process and was in touch with all sides.
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