Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday pledged his support to the Afghan President in his attempt to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.
Mr. Sharif met Ashraf Ghani at his office in Islamabad. Mr. Ghani arrived in Pakistan on Friday for a two-day visit, seeking to repair a relationship between the two nations that was often tense in recent years.
Several weeks ago, Mr. Ghani invited the Taliban to join national reconciliation negotiations. On Saturday, Mr. Sharif backed Mr. Ghani’s initiative, but added that the process must be fully Afghan-led and Afghan owned.
“I reaffirmed that a peaceful, stable, united and prosperous Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s vital national interest,” Mr. Sharif said.
The new Afghan leader praised his Pakistani counterpart and called for the two nations to turn a new page in their relationship. “We must overcome the past,” Mr. Ghani said. “We will not permit the past to destroy the future.”
