ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi assured the US Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, on Tuesday that Islamabad will continue to play its role for a political solution for the 17-year-old Afghan conflict.
The US envoy called on Qureshi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where both leaders agreed to continue cooperation on the Afghan reconciliation process.
“Pakistan welcomes the US efforts for peace in Afghanistan,” said Qureshi while talking to Khalilzad, who is leading an interagency delegation to the region.
Khalilzad arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday, as part of his tour to the region, to seek support of the Pakistan Government in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the dialogue table. He will also head the delegation to UAE, Qatar, and Ƶ.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan and the US held delegation-level talks on the Afghan reconciliation process at the Foreign Office in Islamabad. The Pakistani side was led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and the US side was represented by Khalilzad.
Security, defense and diplomatic officials from both sides attended the talks, the Pakistan Foreign Office confirmed.
“The two sides discussed the Afghan situation and its reconciliation process,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The Afghan-born Khalilzad served as the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations under the Bush and Obama administrations. He was instrumental in setting up the Karzai government in Afghanistan in 2005 and the writing of the Afghan constitution under that government.
“Special Representative Khalilzad’s mission is to coordinate and lead US efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table,” the US Department of State said last week in a statement.
Dr. Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for the Foreign Office, told Arab News earlier: “Pakistan has got limited influence over the Afghan Taliban and the US needs to understand it.”
The special representative will also work in close coordination with the Afghan government and various stakeholders and “explore how best to reach a negotiated settlement to the conflict.”
The trip is Khalilzad’s first visit since his appointment as special representative and reflects the “administration’s intent to support, facilitate, and participate in a peace process in Afghanistan,” the statement added.
Zaigham Khan, security analyst, said that it is heartening to see that the US and Pakistan have commenced “fruitful engagements” to resolve the long Afghan conflict through dialogue with the Taliban.
“Both the countries need to understand each other’s viewpoint on the Afghan conflict and then formulate a joint strategy to resolve the issue,” he told Arab News.
Khan admitted that Pakistan’s influence over the Afghan Taliban has weakened over time but added: “Islamabad can still play a significant role in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table.”
Professor Tahir Malik, academic and analyst, said that the recent thaw in Pak-US relations was welcoming not only for both the countries but also for the whole region. “Pakistan can definitely help the US find a peaceful solution to the Afghan conflict,” he told Arab News.
“This will be possible only when both Islamabad and Washington first bridge the trust deficit on certain issues, including the role of India in Afghanistan.”
