China, Pak agree to strengthen cooperation on Afghan issue

China and Pakistan have agreed to strengthen cooperation on the Afghanistan issue, and backed the need for an Afghan-led and Afgan owned peace and reconciliation process to end the 18-year long war in the country.

A joint statement issued following the conclusion of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to Pakistan said that the two sides welcomed the positive progress achieved in the negotiations between the Taliban and the United States.

They further called on all political stakeholders in the country to initiate intra-Afghan negotiations "to form a future political structure acceptable to all parties and achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan at an early date"

Taliban and the US have been negotiating in the last few months in Qatar's capital city of Doha, despite the group's reluctance to hold direct talks with the Afghan government, which it views as a US puppet.

Days after an agreement was reached upon between two "in principle", US President Donald Trump announced calling off peace negotiations, citing the recent car bombing carried out by the group that claimed the lives of 12 people, including an American soldier.