A day before crucial intra-Afghan talks set to resume in Doha, the top US diplomat, spearheading peace efforts, visited Pakistan on Monday and met Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and DG ISI Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed.
Soon after his meeting with the Pakistani authorities, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad called for a peace deal as well as a ceasefire at the earliest amid the continued violence in Afghanistan.
The meeting between Ambassador Khalilzad and the Pakistani military leadership focused on the “overall regional security situation with particular reference to ongoing Afghan reconciliation,” according to the official handout issued by the ISPR.“Both reaffirmed the commitment towards the common goal of peace and stability in the region and agreed on continued engagement at multiple levels.”
The visiting dignitary, according to ISPR, acknowledged Pakistan's ongoing efforts for enduring peace in Afghanistan and the region.
The top US diplomat travelled to Pakistan as Afghan government and Taliban would resume their talks in Doha on Tuesday. Both sides took a 20-day break after reaching an initial agreement on the rules of engagements for the next phase of talks.
The second phase would focus on the political future of Afghanistan and importantly the comprehensive ceasefire. Despite peace talks and the US-Taliban February 29 deal, the violence continued to cause havoc in the war-torn country. Taliban have so far rejected the calls for ceasefire before reaching a final peace deal being discussed through the intra-Afghan dialogue.
Last month, the Afghan Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar visited Islamabad wherein Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said that reducing the violence was not the responsibility of Taliban alone as he called for other parties to also cease hostilities.
In a series of tweets after meeting General Qamar in Rawalpindi and before leaving for Doha, Ambassador Khalilzad said he was returning to the Qatari capital with expectations that “parties will make tangible progress in the next round of Afghanistan peace negotiations.”
“Both sides must demonstrate they are acting in the best interest of the Afghan people by making real compromises and negotiating an agreement on a political settlement as soon as possible and an immediate significant reduction in violence/ceasefire,” he said.
He further said the current level of violence including target killings was unacceptable. “These perpetuating the violence seek to undermine the peace process and the country's future. They do not reflect the will of the Afghan people, who yearn for peace,” Ambassador Khalilzad pointed out.
The intra-Afghan talks are set to restart just a couple of weeks before Joe Biden takes over the White House. The urgency on part of the US suggests that Biden may follow the same approach on the Afghan peace process. He may not have taken oath formally but observers believe that being the incoming President, he must have been receiving all the briefs on the current situation in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has played a key role in facilitating the US-Taliban deal as well as the intra-Afghan talks. The visit by Ambassador Khalilzad just a day before the resumption of the second round of talks suggests that the US still needs Pakistan's support to get the final peace deal through.
