ISLAMABAD – US Secretary of State’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has arrived in Pakistan on the last leg of his regional tour aimed at finding a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s 17-year war, which will allow American troops to go home, ending Washington’s longest military engagement.
According to the Foreign Office, Khalilzad had taken the Pakistan side into confidence about the delay in his arrival in the country.
The spokesperson did not specify the length of the envoy’s stay, saying that the visit could span over one to four days. The spokesperson confirmed that senior US official Lisa Curtis will also accompany Khalilzad in the meetings.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/pm-imran-president-ghani-discuss-afghan-peace-process-over-the-phone/
According to FO Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal, Khalilzad is expected to meet Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders during his stay and that he will ask Pakistan to help convince the Afghan Taliban to come back to the negotiation table. “Pakistan has also maintained we want an Afghan-led Afghan-owned solution to imbroglio,” said the FO spokesperson.
He added that, Pak-US relations, the Afghan peace process and border management will also be discussed during the meetings the envoy conducts.
Khalilzad has accelerated efforts to end the war in Afghanistan since his appointment. On his previous visits he held talks with the Taliban in the Middle East. He has no plans to travel to the Mideast on this tour, but there are reports he may meet the Taliban during his visit to Pakistan.
https://twitter.com/US4AfghanPeace/status/1085376558334988288
If a meeting is held, it’s likely Khalilzad will press for direct talks with Kabul, something the Taliban have refused.
The envoy’s four-nation trip is expected to end on Jan 21.
A press release from the US state Department had stressed that the US’ desire to reach a “political settlement” to the Afghan conflict and “empower the Afghan people to chart a shared course for their nation’s future”.
“The United States supports the desire of the Afghan people and the international community for a political settlement that ends the 40-year conflict and ensures Afghanistan never again serves as a platform for international terrorism,” the statement added.
It further claimed that the US goal is to “promote dialogue among Afghans” and ensure that all concerned parties reach a solution that will allow “every Afghan citizen [to] enjoy equal rights and responsibilities under the rule of law”.
Washington has long maintained Taliban leaders are sheltering in Pakistan with covert support from the country’s intelligence agency. Washington has been urging Islamabad to use its influence to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/us-to-withdraw-about-7000-troops-from-afghanistan/
Pakistani officials say their influence over the Taliban has significantly declined over the years because the insurgents have gained control over large areas of Afghanistan and continue to pose serious battlefield challenges for US-backed Afghan security forces.
The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan 17 years ago and the war with the Taliban has since killed nearly 150,000 people, including Afghan civilians, security forces, insurgents and more than 2,400 American soldiers, according to an American University study released recently.
The longest war effort in US history has also cost Washington nearly one trillion dollars. The Taliban has expanded its insurgent activities and currently controls or hotly contests about half of Afghanistan. The conflict is said to have killed more Afghan civilians and security forces in 2018 than in any other year.
