US envoy Khalilzad in Pakistan:

Subcontinent

Pakistan US adviser on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad held talks in Islamabad on Tuesday with Pakistan’s foreign secretary, the foreign office said, days after visiting Kabul to try to restart talks with the Taleban for an end to the 17-year Afghan war.

The appointment last month of Khalilzad, a former US ambassador to Afghanistan, highlighted the US administration’s fresh efforts to convince Taleban leaders to participate in the Afghan peace process, despite a surge in the group’s attacks.

Khalilzad met President Ashraf Ghani in the Afghan capital on Sunday to discuss possible peace talks with the Taleban, who have repeatedly rejected negotiation offers and called for a boycott of an Afghan general election set for Oct 20.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua received Khalilzad and the two led “delegation-level talks”, with security, defense, and diplomatic officials from both countries attending, foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on social network Twitter.

Pakistan’s cooperation in the peace process is believed to be key to its success. The country’s powerful military is believed to have kept close ties to the Afghan Taleban since using it to blunt Indian influence in the region in the 1990s.

US officials have accused Pakistan of providing safe haven to Taleban militants in its border regions with Afghanistan and using them as an arm of its foreign policy. Pakistan staunchly denies using proxies.

Khalilzad is set to travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar after leaving Islamabad as part of a 10-day trip in a bid to bring the Taleban to the negoti-