The Commander of Resolute Support and US Forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson has said that the United States has been encouraged by improvement in ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and noted progress towards reconciliation process with Taliban.
Speaking via tele-conference to reporters in Pentagon, General Nicholson said Pakistan was key to the solution in Afghanistan and part of the regional dimension of the South Asia Strategy. General Nicholson noted progress in situation in Afghanistan and referred to the ceasefire that was agreed upon between the Afghan government and the Taliban to celebrate Eid. This was first time that the two sides agreed to a peace initiative in 17 years.
"So this first cease-fire really unleashed the Afghan people's desire for peace and an end to violence on; on really a national and unprecedented scale," he said, adding that various groups, religious ulema, civil society, youth activists, women's groups, all were calling for peace. He said that encouraged by the situation on the ground, the US Secretary of State has said that the US was prepared to work with the parties to reach a peace agreement and a political settlement that brings a permanent end to this war.
General Nicholson said that since then the State Department has been exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government. "At the end of the day, any negotiations over the political future of Afghanistan will be between the Taliban and the Afghan government. This must be an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process, with Afghans talking to Afghans," he said. "And the US is prepared to support, facilitate and participate in these discussions."
General Nicholson also noted a clear progression in the Taliban's public statements, from their February 14 letter to the American people to the recent Eidul-Azha message, where Taliban leader Emir Haibatullah acknowledged for the first time that negotiations would ensure an end to war.
So the progress towards reconciliation, which ultimately is what we want a political end to the war, which will enable a end to the war, is perhaps one of the greatest successes of the strategy so far.
Now, there will be ups and downs, there will be leap-ahead, there'll be frustrations, there'll be, you know, two steps forward, one step back from time to time, but the process is started.
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