Peace in Afghanistan can be restored only through negotiated settlement: PM

UNITED NATIONS: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said after 16 years of war in Afghanistan, it was clear that peace would not be restored there by the continuing resort to military force.

"Neither Kabul and the Coalition, nor the Afghan Taliban, can impose a military solution on each other," the prime minister said while addressing the annual UN General Assembly session.

He said the international community - as expressed in several United Nations resolutions - had concluded that peace could be restored in Afghanistan only through a negotiated settlement.

Prime Minister Abbasi said that Pakistan believed that urgent and realistic goals in Afghanistan should include concerted action to eliminate the presence in that country of Daesh, Al-Qaeda and their affiliates, including the TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which was recently declared a terrorist organization by the Security Council.

He also suggested promotion of negotiations between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban - in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) or any trilateral format - to evolve a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan.

He said the two steps offered the most realistic prospect of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.

"No one desires peace in Afghanistan more than Pakistan," the prime minister added.