US envoy Khalilzad to visit Pakistan as part of four-nation tour

Undertaking tour to negotiate a settlement of the Afghan conflict

US special representative for Afghan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad will visit Pakistan for a five-day tour on Tuesday.

Khalilzad will reach Islamabad on January 15 and meet senior civil and military leaders during his visit. He will also hold delegation-level talks at the foreign office regarding the Afghan peace process and talks with the Taliban and the US Army's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Khalilzad's visit to Pakistan is part of a larger two-week tour where he is also visiting China, India and Afghanistan to “facilitate a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan”.



The US State Department stated that the envoy continues to coordinate his efforts with President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and other Afghan stakeholders to ensure an intra-Afghan peace process.

“The US goal is to promote dialogue among Afghans about how to end the conflict, and to encourage the parties to come together at the negotiating table to reach a political settlement where every Afghan citizen enjoys equal rights and responsibilities under the rule of law.”

During his last trip in December, the US special envoy reiterated that the only solution to the conflict is for all parties to sit together and reach an agreement on the political future of the war-torn country with mutual respect and acceptance.