12 June 2018•Update: 12 June 2018
By Shadi Khan
KABUL, Afghanistan
Pakistani army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa met President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in capital Kabul on Tuesday amid renewed efforts for resumption of peace process.
Gen. Bajwa is in Kabul at the invitation of Ghani, which also marks the first day of the landmark cease-fire declared by the Afghan government with the Taliban.
Shah Hussain Murtazawi, deputy spokesman for Ghani, told Anadolu Agency matters related to counter-terrorism, reduction of violence and Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process were discussed between the two sides.
In a statement, the presidential palace in Kabul said both sides had discussed the Afghanistan-Pakistan action plan for peace and solidarity.
The two neighbors agreed on the action plan in April during former Pakistani Premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s trip to Kabul.
Islamabad has pledged to support the peace process in Afghanistan in line with the seven-point action plan.
On Sunday, President Mamnoon Hussain of Pakistan said at a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, China, that the two countries would work together to draft a comprehensive strategy for establishing peace in Afghanistan, according to Pakistan Today.
Analysts believe Pakistan has significant clout over the Taliban, and the Afghan government seeks to use that to resume stalled peace process in the conflict-riddled country.
