US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he will solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis “very quickly”, as peace talks between the warring neighbours entered a second day.
The two countries are embroiled in a bitter security row, with each claiming they were responding to aggression from the other during clashes earlier this month.
It was the deadliest fighting between them in several years, marking a low point in relations while also causing alarm in a region where armed groups such as Al Qaeda are trying to resurface.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to militants who cross the border for attacks, a charge the country’s Taliban rulers reject.
A second round of talks began in Istanbul on Saturday, focusing on transforming a fragile ceasefire, reached this month in Doha, into a durable framework for peace and border security.
“I heard that Pakistan and Afghanistan have started up,” said Mr Trump on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Malaysia. ”But I’ll get that solved very quickly.”
He made the comments while attending the signing of the Thailand-Cambodia peace agreement and added that the leaders of Pakistan were “great people”.
Days of fighting killed dozens of people and injured hundreds in Afghanistan, although Pakistan denied attacking civilians and said it was targeting militants and their hideouts.
On Sunday, Taliban-controlled media RTA reported that, after 15 hours of “continuous discussions”, the Afghan side had submitted a draft focusing on Pakistan not violating Afghanistan’s territory and airspace and not allowing “any anti-Afghan group or opposition to use Pakistani territory against our country”.
There was also an expression of readiness to establish “a four-way channel to monitor the ceasefire agreement” and exchange information on any breach, RTA reported. The Pakistanis submitted a second draft to the Afghans on Saturday evening, RTA added.
Mr Trump’s remarks are likely to energise Pakistan’s political and military leadership, which wants closer ties with the White House.
Pakistan has also praised Mr Trump for his role in defusing a crisis with India earlier this year.
