Doha agreement a great stride towards peace in Afghanistan: Qureshi

• Doha agreement was first step towards peace and Afghan leadership had to initiate intra-Afghan negotiations with open heart as second step.
• He said it was proved from the twenty-year prolonged Afghan war that war was no the solution for bringing peace.
• Now, only Afghan leadership had to abide by each clause of the agreement and foil the spoilers attempt of disrupting it, he added.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi Tuesday said Doha agreement between Afghan Taliban and the United States was a great stride towards sustainable peace in Afghanistan for which Afghan leadership and other Afghan groups had to demonstrate political maturity by making better environment through confidence building measures.

In an exclusive talk with a private news channel, he said Doha agreement was first step towards peace and Afghan leadership had to initiate intra-Afghan negotiations with open heart as second step.

The foreign minister said following the Afghan peace agreement in Doha, the foreign ministers and representatives at the ceremony were of the view that there might be difficulties ahead which needed to be addressed.

He said it was proved from the twenty-year prolonged Afghan war that war was no the solution for bringing peace. Now it was a great test case for Afghan leadership to either remain narrow-minded or come up with broad-minded.

To a question about the message of Doha agreement for regional countries particularly India, Qureshi said Pakistan had always supported peace and stability in Afghanistan and the role of Pakistan as facilitator was highly appreciated by the comity of nations.

Now, only Afghan leadership had to abide by each clause of the agreement and foil the spoilers attempt of disrupting it, he added.

To another question the statement of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Ashraf Ghani should seek detailed replies to his quarries about bilateral exchange of prisoners from the United States as its mechanism was explicitly defined in the agreement.