- US embassy says Khalilzad’s visit to follow on Pak-US discussions at the UNGA last week
- Visiting Taliban delegation is headed by the group's co-founder Mullah Baradar
ISLAMABAD: A high-level delegation of Afghan Taliban is ready to hold “talks on important issues” with the US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Pakistan, the group’s political spokesman said on Wednesday, though a US official denied Khalilzad’s visit to Islamabad was part of the formal peace process.
The Taliban delegation led by the group’s co-founder, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, will reach Pakistan on Wednesday — a day after Khalilzad, the top US diplomat involved in talks with the militants, arrived in Islamabad.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that Pakistan had officially extended an invitation to the Taliban Political Commission (TPC) in Doha for a visit to Pakistan.
“The visit would provide the opportunity to review the progress made under US-Taliban peace talks so far, and discuss the possibilities of resuming the paused political settlement process in Afghanistan,” excerpts from the statement read.
The Taliban’s visit is the latest stop in a tour of regional powers and comes after efforts by the militants and the United States to reach a deal allowing for the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces from Afghanistan.
Last week, US President Donald Trump also met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in New York and discussed the Afghan peace process.
“We have stated on several occasions that we are ready for the resumption of the talks with Khalilzad in Pakistan if he is willing,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said via phone from Doha, Qatar, where the group’s political office is based. “There is no problem from our side.”
A US embassy spokesperson in Islamabad said that Khalilzad this week was “participating in consultations with Pakistani counterparts. These consultations follow discussions held between the United States and Pakistan during the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week.”
The United States has long considered Pakistani cooperation as crucial to ending the decades-long civil war in Afghanistan.
Following the death of a US soldier and 11 others in a Taliban bomb attack in Kabul last month, Trump halted peace talks with the Taliban, which aimed at striking a deal allowing the US and other foreign troops to exit in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban.
Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Twitter that the Afghan government should be involved in any peace process: “No progress will be imminent if a peace process is not owned and led by the Afghan government,” he said.
The Taliban have refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, dismissing it as a US puppet. Taliban officials have in recent days visited Russia, China and Iran.
The Taliban delegation is due to meet with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, according to an official statement issued by the Foreign Office. However, there is no official confirmation whether or not the delegation will be meeting Prime Minister Khan.