Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman on Monday said his party favoured dialogue between the Taliban and the United States.
Talking to reporters following his first visit to Afghanistan since 1979, Fazl said he had achieved more for Pakistan during his visit to Afghanistan than the diplomats had in the past decade.
Fazl met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and some officials of the High Peace Council during his visit.
He tried to remove doubts and misunderstandings about his solo visit to the conflict-hit country, saying during his visit he had achieved what the country’s diplomats had failed to attain in over 10 years.
The JUI-F delegation comprised Fazl’s close associates, including Jan Mohammad Achakzai, Gul Naseeb Khan, Abdul Wasay and Mufti Abrar.
A statement issued by the Afghan presidential palace said both leaders had called for cooperation against terrorism.
Though the JUI-F chief has long supported the Afghan Taliban and their fight against foreign occupation in Afghanistan, his quiet visit came as a shock to many and even Afghan Taliban were skeptical about Fazl’s meetings with Karzai and his government officials.
Fazl also shied away from sharing details of his meetings there.
Even Achakzai, his spokesman, did not share anything with the media.
Fazl did not hint at what significant tasks he had achieved during his unannounced and unofficial visit for cementing ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“I will share my useful achievements made in Afghanistan with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” Fazl said, adding that President Karzai had assured him that all Pakistani prisoners languishing in Afghan jails would be released.
Grilled about the objective of his visit to Afghanistan, the JUI-F chief said he had no knowledge under which agenda Karzai had invited him to Kabul.
In a bid to appease the Pakistani establishment, Fazl did not forget to bash India, stating that Indian lobby had strengthened its hold in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban government. Fazl said Pakistan had failed to find space in Afghanistan even after rendering so many sacrifices in Afghan jihad.
Fazl, however, declared that his meeting with President Karzai had been a success, adding that it had managed to accomplish more with respect to peace in three days than what had been achieved in the past eight years.
Asked to comment on the Taliban’s statement with respect to his visit, Fazl insisted that the Afghan Taliban bore the JUI-F no grievance.
“The JUI-F has been in complete accord with the Taliban’s view to remove foreign troops from the area,” he said, adding that war was never the solution and peace talks were important for the war-torn state of Afghanistan.
