China stands by Pakistan in reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan, hoping that the US and other stakeholders will show their sincerity in achieving the desired results, an article published in China Daily.
It is a good omen that the foreign ministers of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan are going to meet in Kabul this month moving towards conflict resolution to have a peaceful and prosperous life for the people of this region.
The article says the US President Trump letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking Pakistan's help in the Afghan peace process is a much-appreciated step.
It is hoped that the renewed efforts for peace will be result-oriented, after fighting an unnecessary and avoidable war in Afghanistan for 17 long years that involved the spending of billions of dollars and caused the deaths of countless innocent people, finally the US thinks about a peaceful solution to Afghanistan.
In fact, peace is the only option, as war in Afghanistan has endangered and destabilized the whole region.
The regional countries of China, Russia, Iran and Turkey all want a stable Afghanistan. Recently, Russia offered its offices for peace talks, proposing the ôMoscowáFormatö for an Afghan solution.á
China, the regional political power, has been engaged in the peace process in Afghanistan, serving as a catalyst for normalizing Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
According to the article, the true potential of the Belt and Road Initiative, especially China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, can only be realized when there is a stable and peaceful Afghanistan. After all, Eurasia, Russia and Central Asia can only utilize Gwadar as a newly emerged trade route through Afghanistan, where CPEC may later extend in the future.
Pakistan understands Afghanistan better than anyone else, as the two countries are neighbours and share a long border as well as a common culture, language and ethnicity.
No other nation can play the same positive role asáPakistanáin gaining peace and stability ináAfghanistan, to which the country is sincerely committed.
An Afghan-led solution, where theáUSácompletely withdraws from the country, as ináVietnam, is the only permanent solution, and Pakistan can facilitate this by providing a safe passage for aáUSáwithdrawal.
Peace in Afghanistan will encourage more economic activity among Central Asia, Russia, China and Gwadar. It will help Afghanistan and its neighbouring states to improve trade and the economy and to eradicate poverty, potentially changing the fate of the whole region.