Nawaz renews support for Afghan-led peace effort

PESHAWAR: Pakistan has  reaffirmed its commitment to  support an Afghan-led and  Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation  process as envisaged  under the quadrilateral  framework.  Prime Minister Nawaz  Sharif, currently on a visit to  Davos on Thursday, reiterated  the vow at a meeting with  Swiss Confederation President  Doris Leuthard on the  sidelines of the 47th World  Economic Forum.  "We believe the security of  Pakistan is directly linked to  peace and stability in  Afghanistan," he said, adding  that his country continued to  host millions of Afghan  refugees for more than three  decades. Presently, the premier  said, around 1.5 million  Afghan refugees and about an  equal number of undocumented  people from the neighbouring  country were living in  Pakistan. “We believe there is  a need to create necessary  pull-factors inside Afghanistan  for sustained repatriation of  Afghan refugees," Nawaz was  quoted as saying by the staterun  Associated Press of Pakistan.  While commending Pakistan’s  role in giving refuge to  over three million Afghan  refugees on its soil, Leuthard  urged Islamabad to keep promoting  constructive relations  with Kabul.