China, Pakistan call for ceasefire in Afghanistan

CHENGDU, China: Pakistan and China have called on all Afghan stakeholders to agree to a ceasefire and work together to achieve an inclusive peace agreement and political settlement.

According to a private news channel, the call was made by the two sides during a foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue in Chengdu in Sichuan province in China. A statement issued by China and Pakistan said the two countries had reaffirmed their commitment to facilitate and support an “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” peace and reconciliation process.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said that peace talks were the best way to address Afghanistan issues and that the Taliban could not impose their “will” on the people of Afghanistan through military force.

Speaking in an interview with Al-Jazeera, Abdullah said that the Taliban had to seek their goal through peace talks. “Taliban cannot convert the whole population of Afghanistan into Taliban. Talibanization of Afghanistan is not acceptable,” Abdullah said. “Peaceful settlement is much better option than the continuation of the war; we will continue to make these efforts,” he added.