Pakistan pressing Afghan Taliban to meet US special envoy in Islamabad: report

United States’ special envoy on Afghan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, is expected to arrive in Islamabad for talks with the country's civilian and military leadership, on Thursday.

Representatives of the Taliban attend international talks on Afghanistan in Moscow on November 9, 2018. (Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP)

New Delhi: Pakistan is apparently making serious efforts to facilitate a meeting between the US special representative for Afghanistan and Afghan Taliban leaders in Islamabad. United States’ special envoy on Afghan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, is expected to arrive in Islamabad for talks with the country's civilian and military leadership. Pakistan is reportedly pressurising the Taliban to meet the envoy after the militant group threatened to pull out of peace talks that could see an end to the 17-year Afghan War. Khalilzad is expected to land in Islamabad on Thursday. Citing sources, The Dawn reported that Pakistan had conveyed to the Taliban leadership its desire to convene a meeting in Islamabad this week to push forward the peace agenda. However, the country's Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said he had no knowledge of the meeting between US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad and Afghan Taliban representatives. The Taliban too did not announce its agreement to sit down with Khalilzad, though sources said chances of talks between the two adversaries were high, the Dawn reported. This comes in the backdrop of media reports about the arrest of a senior Taliban figure and his subsequent release and raids and arrests of some Taliban commanders to put pressure on the group to return to the negotiating table and also to get them to meet the Afghan government representatives. The US wants Pakistan to encourage the militants to reach a settlement in Afghanistan and bring the 17-year war to a close. The Taliban officials have said they will only begin talks with the Afghan government once a firm date for the withdrawal of American troops from the country is agreed. India has been a key stakeholder in the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. India has been maintaining a policy of not engaging with the Taliban and pressing for an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace initiative to bring peace and stability in the war-ravaged country.