RAWALPINDI: Top US Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad held important meeting withPakistani Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa.
US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad Fridaycalled on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
During the meeting, issues of mutual interest and overall regional securitysituation including Afghan reconciliation process were discussed, saidInter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
COAS reiterated that Pakistan’s support towards peace process was amanifestation of our goodwill towards the cause.
The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s continuous efforts for peaceand stability in the region.
Early on May 7, Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman in Qatar, saidKhalilzad met with the Taliban’s chief negotiator, Mullah Abdul GhaniBaradar, in Doha.
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“The meeting discussed the prompt release of prisoners, the beginning ofinter-Afghan peace talks and the complete implementation of the agreement[between the Taliban and the U.S.],” he tweeted.
The trip comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on May 5 that thepeace deal was “behind schedule” because both the Afghan government andTaliban have failed to live up to their commitments.
Progress on intra-Afghan talks has been hobbled by a political feud betweenPresident Ashraf Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who both claim tobe the leader of the country following a disputed election in September2019.
