The US chief negotiator for Afghan reconciliation and the top American commander in Afghanistan visited Islamabad on Tuesday and discussed the peace process with Pakistan’s military leadership.
“Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Resolute Support Mission Commander General Austin Scott Miller visited Islamabad on April 14,” a statement issued by the US embassy in Pakistan said. “In the meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Ambassador Khalilzad and General Miller discussed the United States’ ongoing efforts for a sustainable peace in Afghanistan,” the communique said. “Pakistan’s military leaders reaffirmed their support for US efforts and renewed their commitment to act to advance a political settlement to the conflict,” according to the statement.
A day earlier, Khalilzad held talks with the Taliban negotiators in Qatar to discuss ways how to remove obstacles in implementation of peace agreement they had signed in February. The meeting was held days after the Taliban accused the US of ‘violating’ the agreement by carrying out attacks on Taliban bases and warned that US operations could harm the peace process. A US military spokesman in Afghanistan had denied the Taliban allegations and said foreign troops will defend the Afghan security forces if attacked.
Miller had also met Taliban officials in Qatar on Friday and discussed in details implementation of the agreement as well as its “violations, particularly attacks and night raids in non-combat areas came under serious discussion,” Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen had said in a twitter post. He said the Taliban delegation had called for a halt to such attacks.
