Pakistan on Friday, February 24 formally called on Islamic militants in Afghanistan to shun violence and join the national reconciliation process.

As M&C reported, citing DPA, the appeal was made by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in response to a request by Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday.

“It is now time to turn a new leaf and open a new chapter in the history of Afghanistan,” Gilani said in a statement.

The statement marks a departure for Pakistan, which has shown limited support for Karzai's government, and has long-standing ties to the Taliban.

Islamabad is believed to wield influence over the Islamic rebels fighting the international and Afghan troops from sanctuaries over the border in Pakistan.

The links date back to 1990s when Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, supported by the United States, trained and equipped Taliban fighters to take over Kabul.

Observers have also said that Karzai's increasing mistrust of the US and deteriorating relations between Washington and Islamabad may have contributed to drawing the Afghan and Pakistani administrations closer together.