Summary US envoy will meet Pakistan’s civil-military leadership during his stay.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The United States (US) Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad reached Islamabad today (Tuesday).
During his stay in the country, the US envoy will meet Pakistan’s civil-military leadership and exchange views on ways to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan.
He will meet with Afghan government officials and other interested parties to support and facilitate an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan, empowering the Afghan people to decide their nation’s fate.
The representative will travel to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar with an interagency delegation from December 2 to 20, the State Department’s press release had revealed earlier.
On his last trip to the region in November, Special Representative Khalilzad met with men and women active in civil society and peace efforts, members of the media, and other governmental and non-governmental officials. He stressed that all Afghans must have a say in creating a sustainable peace for Afghanistan.
It is pertinent here to mention that on November 3, United States of America (USA) President Donald Trump on Monday also had written a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asking for help in resolving the Afghanistan issue.
According to sources, the premier had held meeting with senior journalists and anchors in Islamabad and discussed ongoing country’s situation.
On the occasion, Imran Khan had said that Trump has asked for Pakistan’s assistance for negotiation with Afghan Taliban. US has also realized now that peace cannot be attained in Afghanistan without Pakistan’s help, he added.
Trump had asked for Pakistan’s “support and facilitation” in negotiating an end to the war and offered to renew the strained relationship, Pakistan’s foreign ministry also confirmed.
The overture to Khan represents a sea change from Trump’s normally harsh rhetoric towards Pakistan, and will add to growing speculation that the United States is planning to pull out of Afghanistan in the near future.
The U.S. president wants to bring to a close the 17-year-old conflict between Afghan security forces and the Taliban, who are fighting to drive out international forces.
“He (Donald Trump) has asked for Pakistan’s cooperation to bring the Taliban into talks,” Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told.
Trump told Khan the Pakistan relationship was very important to the United States and to finding a solution to the Afghanistan conflict, Chaudhry added.
