ISLAMABAD - Chief of JUI-F Maulana Fazalur Rahman on Monday said that the US should not confine itself to ensuring peaceful presidential elections in Afghanistan but instead redouble its efforts for meaningfully re-engaging the Afghan Taliban.
"There is a dire need that Pakistan and Afghanistan come on the same page and for this, both the countries need to work on redressing grievances particularly in security arena," Maulana said, in telephonic conversation with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Both the leaders stressed the need for a renewed push for Afghan reconciliation.
The Afghan President appreciated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's efforts for improving the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He said that Kabul appreciates the role of Islamabad in facilitating Afghan reconciliation. He said that the Afghan government supported reconciliation efforts of the Nawaz government with the Pakistani Taliban.
The Maulana told Karzai that the JUI-F is the first political party to arrive at the conclusion that without Afghan reconciliation durable peace could not be materialised as all stakeholders in Afghanistan should work for this goal. He said that when politics surrounding Afghanistan has pivoted towards reconciliation instead of "war on terror", all regional and international stakeholders have to work towards this objective as peace dividends will be reaped by the whole region. Both the leaders agreed that If Afghan reconciliation is not facilitated, the whole region particularly, Pakistan will bear negative consequences.