PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Sunday cautiously welcomed the progress in the peace talks between the Taliban and the US, saying it would help bring stability to the war-torn country. However, he stressed the need for taking much care to make the process a success.

In a statement issued from the party’s secretariat here, he said the US special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad should take the Afghan government into confidence about the progress made so far as it was one of the main stakeholders.

However, he cautioned all the stakeholders against taking credit for the nascent peace initiative. He said the stakeholders should move forward cautiously to take the peace initiative to its logical conclusion.

Mr Sherpao said all sides must avoid issuing unnecessary statements at this crucial stage as it could jeopardise the efforts for the peace talks which would be detrimental to regional peace and security.

The QWP chief said peace in Afghanistan would help bring stability to the region, particularly to Pakistan.

He said Pakhtuns on both sides of the border had badly suffered during the last 40 years due to bloodshed in the region, therefore, there was dire need to make strenuous efforts to mitigate the sufferings of the people by restoring peace.

Appreciating the role played by the Pakistani establishment to help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, he said Islamabad should continue supporting the ongoing peace initiative so that it could yield positive results.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2019