WASHINGTON: The United States wants the Afghan peace process to continue and appreciates the “positive role” Pakistan is playing for continuing this process, says the State Department.

The statement given at a news briefing on Tuesday evening follows a strong criticism of Pakistan’s Afghan policy, which was also expressed at a State Department news briefing last week.

But at Tuesday’s briefing, State Department official Mark Toner reiterated US support for the peace process.

“Our policy hasn’t changed. We want to see an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process,” he said. “We welcome the positive role that Pakistan has played in trying to get these peace talks started.”

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2016