RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday departed for Kabul on an official visit to meet President Ashraf Ghani.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the invitation was extended by the Afghan President.
DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said in a tweet “Pakistan wishes to see (the) National Unity Government and United States (US)/ North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) succeeding to bring peace in Afghanistan.
Army Chief left for Kabul to meet President Ashraf Ghani on his invitation. Pakistan wishes to see National Unity Government and US / NATO succeeding to bring peace in Afghanistan.
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) June 12, 2018
Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) issued a statement saying that Pakistan reassures of its support to the recent peace initiatives in Afghanistan after the government and Taliban called for a ceasefire during Eid-ul-Fitr.
FO Spokesperson said that Pakistan was all for the the Afghan -owned and Afghan-led efforts aiming to bring peace and stability with Afghanistan. He added, greeting our Afghan brethren a peaceful and blessed month of Ramazan and a happy Eid.
Earlier on Thursday, President Ghani had announced a week-long ceasefire from June 12 to 19 with the Taliban, however, operations against other groups would continue.
In response the Taliban had also announced a three-day ceasefire against the Afghan forces for Eid, though operations against the foreign occupiers would remain intact.
This is the first time the Taliban have agreed to a ceasefire for Eid since the 2001 US invasion.