Zalmay Khalilzad arrives in Pakistan today
The US special representative's visit to Pakistan would be of utmost importance.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad will arrive in Pakistan to seek support for Intra-Afghan dialogues on Tuesday.
According to diplomatic sources, the US special representative’s visit to Pakistan would be of utmost importance. He will hold meetings with the civil military leadership.
Zalmai Khalilzad will leave Islamabad for Kabul. He will also hold talks with the Taliban in Doha after holding meetings with the Pakistani and Afghan officials.
It is pertinent here to mention that Zalmay had left the United States for intra-Afghan talks. He departed for a five-country visit as Washington presses for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The United States is drawing down its troops in Afghanistan under an agreement struck in February with the Taliban. The agreement aimed to pave the way for formal peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government, and Khalilzad’s task is to try and bring both sides to the table.
Khalilzad plans to press for a deal on prisoner exchanges and a reduction in violence, two issues that have hampered progress toward starting peace talks.“Although significant progress has been made on prisoner exchanges, the issue requires additional effort to fully resolve,” the State Department said in its statement.
