��������Ƶ

ISLAMABAD: US Special Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, on Monday appreciated Pakistan’s “sincere and unconditional support” in facilitating ongoing intra-Afghan peace talks, the Pakistan army said in a statement. 
Khalilzad arrived in Pakistan on Monday and met Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, two days after the Taliban insurgent group and the Afghan government started key negotiations to end a 19-year-old war in Afghanistan. 
“The visiting dignitary greatly appreciated Pakistan’s role in the ongoing peace process and said that it could not have succeeded without Pakistan’s sincere and unconditional support,” the army’s media wing said, adding: 
“COAS [chief of army staff] said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has given clear vision regarding peace and connectivity in the region and all elements of national power are united toward making that vision a reality to ensure long awaited peace, progress and prosperity in the region.”
The American embassy in Islamabad said Khalilzad had thanked Pakistan for its role in advancing the Afghanistan peace process. 
“Ambassador Khalilzad expressed appreciation on behalf of the United States, especially the important role that Prime Minister Imran Khan and General Bajwa played in facilitating the start of the Afghanistan Peace Negotiations in Doha on September 12, and stressed the need for ongoing regional and international support for this historic opportunity for peace,” the embassy’s statement said. 
Historic peace talks kicked off in Qatar’s capital, Doha, on Saturday after months of delays in US-led efforts to end a conflict that the United Nations estimates has killed and wounded more than 100,000 civilians.
Achieving a significant reduction in violence and getting to a permanent cease-fire are among the top issues the sides are discussing. 
Just hours after peace talks started, Taliban and Afghan government forces clashed across Afghanistan, officials told Reuters, underscoring the uphill challenge of ending the long civil war. The most intense of those clashes on Saturday were in Kunduz, where Taliban again jostled with security forces for control of key highways, and the Afghan military deployed air and artillery strikes.
The Taliban’s muscular action comes just as the United States rapidly draws down its troops in Afghanistan, in line with President Donald Trump’s promises to end America’s longest war. A February pact between Washington and the Taliban set May 2021 as the date for the final pullout, subject to certain security guarantees.
US troop numbers are expected to fall to 4,500 by November from over 100,000 in 2011.