LAHORE: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to visit Kabul next week to meet President Hamid Karzai to involve him in efforts to make the Afghan Taliban agree to holding talks for peace.
“We have learnt through sources that Sharif is scheduled to visit Afghanistan next week where he will primarily discuss with Karzai the core issues relating to talks with Taliban,” Muhammad Asim Makhdoom, Central Information Secretary of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Samiul Haq), said yesterday.
Maulana Samiul Haq had been formally contacted and requested by Sharif to use his influence in bringing Taliban to the negotiating table. PML-N leader Senator Tariq Azeem confirmed that the prime minister might visit Kabul soon.
“The prime minister has formally accepted the invitation extended by Karzai recently. He (Sahib) has decided to go there and dates of the visit are yet to be confirmed,” Azeem added. The two leaders, he said, would discuss issues, including talks with Taliban.
The JUI-S leader said that Sharif had earlier requested Haq to play a role in arranging talks between Taliban and the Pakistan government but the latter had kept quiet.
He said his party firmly believed that the Taliban could be brought to the negotiating table if the PML-N government succeeded in getting the US drone attacks stopped immediately.
“Since the US and Pakistan are seeking talks with the Taliban, we will have to ensure that drone attacks are stopped first. Therefore, the new government will have to be serious if it really wants to resolve the issue,” Makhdoom said.
Haq said Afghan President Hamid Karzai was a helpless man and not in a position to resolve the issue.
Internews
