Taleban-US talks in Islamabad

kabul — The Taleban said that its negotiators would meet US envoys for talks this month in Islamabad, and also sit down with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss Afghanistan.

While Pakistan did not immediately confirm the talks, Washington said it had “noted” the announcement, which comes after weeks of meetings between the US and Taleban. “We are not going to negotiate in public,” a US State Department spokesperson said, adding that the US had not received a formal invitation. “This is the beginning of a long process which we continue to work through private diplomatic channels.” —

This (talks) is the beginning of a long process which we continue to work through private diplomatic channels.

A US State Department spokesperson

kabul — The Taleban said on Wednesday that its negotiators would meet US envoys for talks this month in Islamabad, and also sit down with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss Afghanistan.

While Islamabad did not immediately confirm the talks, Washington said it had “noted” the announcement, which comes after weeks of meetings between the US and Taleban officials.

“We are not going to negotiate in public,” a US State Department spokesperson told AFP, adding that the US had not received a formal invitation to any talks.

“This is the beginning of a long process which we continue to work through private diplomatic channels.”

The announcement comes as America’s chief negotiator tours the globe shoring up support for a peace process to end its longest war.

Zalmay Khalilzad, a former ambassador to Afghanistan, held extensive talks with the militants last month in Qatar, where the Taleban have an office. More talks are slated for later in February. The Taleban’s statement said separate meetings would be held first on February 18 in Islamabad “by the formal invitation of the government of Pakistan”.

Talks in Doha would follow a week later on February 25, the statement read.

Khalilzad is heading a large delegation on a tour of Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Qatar, Afghanistan and Pakistan to boost the peace process and bring all Afghan parties to the table.

He has expressed cautious hope for a deal before Afghan presidential elections slated for July, but says the Taleban must come to the

table with the Kabul government, which the insurgents consider a US puppet. President Ashraf Ghani — who has expressed frustration at being sidelined from recent talks — flew to Munich on Wednesday to attend an international security conference, his office said.

The Taleban also announced a meeting with Prime Minister Khan in Islamabad for “comprehensive discussions” about bilateral affairs with Afghanistan. News reports in Pakistan last month had suggested

Islamabad was open to hosting the next round of talks with the insurgents. In January, as he travelled the region building support for the peace process, Khalilzad met Khan in Pakistan — one of just three countries that recognised the Taleban regime before their ousting by US-led forces in 2001.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in December that President Donald Trump wrote to Khan seeking Islamabad’s support for peace efforts. —