Taliban delegation meets Foreign Minister of Pakistan

Taliban delegation meets Foreign Minister of Pakistan at Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad today.

Notably, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi received the high-level Afghan Taliban delegation.

According to a Foreign Office (FO) press release, Taliban are currently visiting Islamabad to meet the Pakistani leadership.

During their meeting, the delegates discussed the regional situation, the Afghan peace process and other issues of mutual interest.

Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, Foreign Affairs Secretary Sohail Mahmood and other FO officials also attended the meeting.

Earlier, the FO had revealed that an Afghan Taliban delegation to review progress under the stalled US-Taliban peace talks.

Moreover, FM Qureshi told the Taliban delegation that both countries were equally facing the consequences of instability over the past 40 years.

Furthermore, he said that Pakistan understands that war is not the solution to any problem.

Hence, he proposed negotiations as the only possible and positive option in order to establish peace in Afghanistan.

However, the foreign minister also referred that Pakistan had played the mediator’s role in the Afghan peace progress.

Meanwhile, he expressed hope that all parties would resume dialogue. He expressed optimism on durable peace and stability without further setbacks.

US again asks Pakistan for help

Furthermore,  Zalmay Khalizad is discussing Afghan Taliban peace talks revival, with Pakistani civil and military leadership

Notably, diplomatic sources in the US said that Pakistan was trying to bring Taliban leader Mullah Baradar from Doha.

Mulla Baradar meets Zalmay in Islamabad

Moreover, they hint at possibility of Mulla Baradar meeting with Mr Khalilzad in Islamabad on Wednesday.

In September 2019, US official reportedly claimed to have cut a deal with Taliban. But, the latter had turned down it.

How Afghan official reacted

However, former Afghan Ambassador to Washington Hamdullah Mohib had accused Khalilzad of trying to weaken the Afghan government.

Meanwhile, he also blamed Zalmay to run for Afghan President by cutting Afghan government out of talks with the Taliban.

Mohib also said that the US envoy was not reconciling but he was alienating.

But, Trump declared talks dead
Although war of words continued, President Trump came to end that by declaring US Taliban talks dead.
Now, US again asks Pakistan to help Trump administration for revival of those talks.

Most importantly, President Trump suddenly called off a meeting with representatives of Taliban and President Ashraf Ghani at Camp David.

Khalilzad later reportedly told Congress members in a classified briefing that the peace deal with the Taliban dead.

Apart from that, he had also met Prime Minister Imran Khan during his recent visit to New York.
On that occasion, he shared with PM Khan an overview of his yearlong engagement with the Taliban before it went off the rails.