US should show restraint on drone strikes during Afghan peace talks: Asif

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has called on the United States to exercise restraint on drone strikes at a time when attempts are underway to revive Afghan-Taliban peace talks.

Speaking on Geo News' programme 'Aapas Ki Baat', the foreign minister expressed hope that the four-nation moot in Muscat, Oman to find ways of reviving peace talks with Afghan Taliban militants would yield positive results.

“But the US should show restraint on drone strikes anywhere in Afghanistan, or Pakistan,” he said.

Asif said the US is not providing any aid. “We want relations with US based on equality,” he reiterated.

Four nations meet to resume stalled Afghan peace talks in Oman

It was not clear if any Afghan Taliban had joined the talks

Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and the United States met in Oman on Monday to try to revive Afghan-Taliban peace settlement. The four-nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QGC) — which last met in Islamabad early last year, has been trying to ease the path to direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

But it was not clear if any Afghan Taliban had joined the talks, which have so far failed to restart a tentative process that collapsed in 2015.

The Pakistani delegation is being led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua.