The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan have issued a joint appeal to Taliban militants to join peace talks after a meeting organized by China to mend relations between Kabul and Islamabad.
The appeal came after Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani met in Beijing on December 26 with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
In their appeal, the three governments called for a "broad-based and inclusive peace and reconciliation process."
The also said they were calling on the Afghan Taliban "to join the peace process at an early date."
The ministers also said they were willing to further collaborate on counterterrorism efforts, saying they would "not allow any country, organization or individual to use their own territory to engage in terrorist activities against other countries."
Afghan authorities have accused Pakistan of providing a safe haven for the Taliban, after Afghanistan's Taliban government was overthrown in late 2001 by a U.S.-led invasion.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the Beijing talks on December 26 were the first of their kind since the three countries agreed to establish a "trilateral dialogue mechanism" in June.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
