Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Khalilzad Assured Pakistan’s Steadfast Support for Afghan Peace

Khalilzad Assured Pakistan’s  Steadfast Support for Afghan Peace

KABUL - Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has assured US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad of Islamabad’s steadfast support for a negotiated settlement in the war-torn country.
Khalilzad arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday for meetings with political and military leadership about convincing the Afghan Taliban to join the peace talks, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
Via Twitter, Mohammad Faisal, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign office, said, “Khalilzad called on Foreign Minister [FM] Shah Mahmood Qureshi and reiterated US President Donald Trump’s desire to seek Pakistan’s cooperation for peace and stability in Afghanistan.”
“The FM assured the US side of Pakistan’s steadfast support for a negotiated settlement in war-torn Afghanistan,” Faisal added.
Leading a delegation, Khalilzad met with Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua at the Foreign Office in Islamabad. The talks, however, remained inconclusive.
On Monday, Pakistan welcomed US President Donald Trump’s decision to make political reconciliation between the Afghan Taliban and Kabul to end the more than 17-year-old war in Afghanistan.
Islamabad issued a statement Monday in response to a letter Trump sent to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan requesting “assistance and facilitation in achieving a negotiated settlement of the Afghan war.”
Khalilzad is also expected to travel to Afghanistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar as part of the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to find a peaceful end to the war in Afghanistan, which has been raging since October 2001.
“Since Pakistan has always advocated a political settlement to end the war in Afghanistan, the US decision is welcomed, the Pakistani statement said, reiterates its commitment a facilitation role in good faith.
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua headed Pakistan’s team at the Foreign Office and both sides were joined by officials from the diplomatic, security and defence services.
Earlier in October, Khalilzad had held his second direct talks with the six members of the Afghan Taliban in Qatar as the US State Department underlined the desire to push forward the Afghan peace process. (Pajhwok)
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