Pakistan says it supports stability in Afghanistan

(19 Mar 2021) Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday that his country supports stability in Afghanistan, adding that there cannot be economic prosperity without peace. "We want to see a prosperous Afghanistan," Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry told reporters at a weekly press briefing. His comments come a day after Russia hosted a peace conference for Afghanistan on Thursday. Chaudhry thanked Russia for hosting the meeting which brought together government representatives, the Taliban and international observers in a bid to help jump-start the country's stalled peace process. The one-day gathering was the first of three planned international conferences ahead of a May 1 deadline for the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the country, a date fixed under a year-old agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban. Moscow's attempt at mediation comes as talks in Qatar between the Afghan government and the Taliban, still waging an insurgency, have stalled. Washington and Kabul have been pressing for a cease-fire while the Taliban say they will negotiate it as part of peace talks with the Afghan government. Pakistan has in the past been praised by Washington and Kabul for its role in getting the Taliban to the peace table, first in direct talks with the United States, which resulted in an agreement that led to the so-called intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha. Still, for many Afghans, Pakistan is viewed with deep mistrust, blamed for a resurgence of the Taliban after their defeat by the U.S.-led coalition in 2001 by giving the religious insurgents a safe haven from which to operate. Pakistan is seen by many in Afghanistan as wanting to keep the Taliban as possible leverage against influence in Afghanistan by its long-time enemy India, which has been critical of any post-war government in Afghanistan that includes the Taliban. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...