Afghan government, Taliban urged to hold unconditional dialogue

Pakistan on Tuesday called for unconditional dialogue between Afghan Taliban and Afghanistan government to bring peace to the war torn country. Dr Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, while participating in the annual debate in the General Assembly on the situation in Afghanistan said that neither side in the conflict can impose a military solution on each other and called for a negotiated end to the war.
"Neither the Coalition and Kabul, nor the Afghan Taliban, can impose a military solution on each other", Dr Lodhi told the 193 member UN body. Arguing against the continuing resort to military force in Afghanistan, she said, "Sixteen years of war, waged by the world's most powerful forces, have not secured a military solution." "The promotion of a political settlement and the pursuit of a military solution in Afghanistan are mutually incompatible", Ambassador Lodhi said and added that another resort to the military option without an accompanying political strategy will not produce a result different from the past".
It will instead lead to more violence and suffering for the Afghan people and further instability in the region, she asserted. The international community, she said, is unanimous in its view that sustainable peace in Afghanistan is achievable only through a negotiated settlement.
"The resolution that the GA adopted today reaffirms this international consensus", she emphasised. The Pakistani envoy said her country has consistently proposed a political settlement as the most viable course to end the decades of conflict and suffering in Afghanistan. In her address to the UNGA Ambassador Lodhi also called on the Afghan Taliban to abandon violence and come to the negotiating table to engage in a serious dialogue for peace.
While welcoming the Afghan peace and reconciliation plan, Ambassador Lodhi expressed the hope that it will serve as a first step towards working for a political settlement. Ambassador Lodhi also highlighted the fallout on Pakistan of the prolonged conflict in Afghanistan, including terrorism, which Pakistan has been obliged to address.
She said, "We have deployed 200,000 troops on our western border; we have conducted the largest anti-terrorism campaign anywhere in the world; these military campaigns have succeeded in clearing our tribal areas of almost all militant and terrorist groups". She also told the world body of the heavy price paid by Pakistan. "Over 27,000 Pakistanis, including 6,500 military and law enforcement personnel have been martyred as a result of terrorism. Pakistan's economic losses are estimated at over $120 billion", she added. In her statement Ambassador Lodhi also recounted comprehensive and tangible steps taken by Pakistan over the years to support Afghanistan's economy and development.