Don't blame Taliban for escalating violence: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the Taliban should not be blamed for the escalation of violence in Afghanistan and that reducing violence is not the responsibility of the Taliban alone.

  The Pakistani foreign minister told reporters after meeting a Taliban delegation from Qatar that the Taliban should not be blamed for the escalation of violence in Afghanistan.  All parties play their part.

  He also said that he had comprehensive discussions with the Taliban delegation on Afghan peace and Doha talks.

  This is when the interfaith talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar, which ended inconclusively, both sides left Qatar for five days, the Afghan government delegation returned to Kabul and the Taliban delegation met Mullah Abdul Ghani that day.  Led by Baradar, he left for Pakistan.

  Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan had a telephone conversation with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani last night.

  During the talks, Imran Khan assured the President that he would work for a permanent ceasefire.