As United States (US)-Taliban talks continue with the aim of achieving peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif has glorified the fundamentalist political movement and military organisation in a statement that drew strong criticism.

“You may have the power, but God is with us… Allah is great,” he wrote while tweeting a picture of Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

His statement wasn’t very well received by netizens who trained guns at the ex-foreign minister for having forgotten how the Taliban not only brutalised the people of Afghanistan but also harboured militants who targeted many, including Asif’s boss and former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif.

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Meanwhile, after nearly two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands, peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban have opened in Doha.

Key speakers at the opening ceremony at a hotel included Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Chairperson Abdullah Abdullah, Mullah Baradar and Pompeo.

The negotiations, where the two warring sides will sit face-to-face for the first time, will start today (Monday).

For his part, Abdullah on Saturday spoke about seeking a dignified and lasting peace.

“I believe that if we give hands to each other and honestly work for peace, the current ongoing misery in the country will end,” Abdullah said, calling for a “humanitarian ceasefire”.