US envoy set to hold talks with Pakistan on Taliban issue
ISLAMABAD: Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy tasked with finding a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s 17-year-old war, arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday for meetings with Pakistan’s political and military leadership on bringing the Afghan Taliban to peace talks.
The visit came a day after US President Donald Trump wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking Islamabad’s “assistance and facilitation in achieving a negotiated settlement of the Afghan war”, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
Despite the positive spin by Pakistan, a US National Security Council spokesperson was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying that Trump’s letter “recognises that Pakistan has the ability to deny the Taliban sanctuary on its territory”.
The letter also makes clear Pakistan’s help with the Afghan peace process is “fundamental to building an enduring Us-pakistan partnership”.
At the heart of the stalemate is the US insistence that Pakistan do more to bring the Taliban on to the negotiating table.
Washington believes Islamabad holds considerable sway over the Taliban. Pakistan has dispelled that impression and insisted that bringing the group to the negotiating table is a shared responsibility of all the players.
Khalilzad will also travel to Afghanistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Belgium, the UAE and Qatar in an effort to find a peaceful end to the Afghan war. “He will meet with Afghan government officials and other interested parties to facilitate an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan, empowering the Afghan people to decide their nation’s fate,” said a statement from the US state department.
Meanwhile, Pakistan human rights minister Shireen Mazari, replying to Khalilzad’s tweet regarding his regional visit, called on the special envoy to “bring a less arrogant and hostile mindset when you visit Islamabad”.
Mazari credited Khan for promptly responding to Trump’s recent Twitter tirade against Pakistan.
Referring to the letter by Trump seeking Pakistan’s help for the Afghan peace talks, she said the prime minister’s reply had “compelled Trump to do a reality check”.