Pakistan pushes Taliban for 'permanent ceasefire, intra-Afghan dialogue'

Trump's point person for Afghanistan briefed on recent measures during Islamabad stopover

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday briefed the US President's point person for Afghanistan about the steps taken by Islamabad, following the Prime Minister's visit to Washington, to persuade the Afghan Taliban for permanent ceasefire and intra-Afghan dialogue.

Details were not immediately available as to what specific steps Pakistan had taken to facilitate the peace process but officials familiar with the development told The Express Tribune that Islamabad had started executing the measures agreed between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Donald Trump recently at a summit meeting in Washington.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative for Afghan reconciliation, made a stopover in Islamabad where he was briefed about Pakistan's recent measures.

Khalilzad, who is soon to resume talks with the Taliban in Doha, held talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and separately met the premier.

The PM, before meeting Khalilzad, also chaired a high-powered huddle attended by army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt General Faiz Hamid and other senior officials. The meeting reviewed the outcome of the Trump-Imran summit and implementation of the decisions taken during the visit.

Trump had invited Imran to the White House as a token of recognition of Pakistan's positive role in facilitating the Afghan peace process as Islamabad's effort had helped the US and Taliban to come close to a deal.

It is believed that the upcoming round in Doha will culminate into the signing of an MoU between the US and Taliban on the timeframe for troops withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Taliban guarantees of not allowing Afghan soil to be used by terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda.

Officials here said Khalilzad apprised the Pakistani authorities about the likely deal with the Taliban and the future course of action. Once the broader deal is struck, the next phase of talks would be on bringing all Afghan groups on one platform.

Taliban have so far rejected repeated calls for holding direct talks with the Ghani administration, although they met other rival groups and even government figures but in their individual capacities.

But with the deal all set to be signed, it is likely that the Taliban, through the help of Pakistan, would now agree to meet the Ghani administration. The meeting is expected to take place sometime next week in Oslo, according to reports.

Foreign Minister Qureshi welcomed the progress achieved in the talks and the Intra-Afghan Peace Conference in Doha, in which all participants agreed upon a basic road map.

It was noted that ultimately the intra-Afghan dialogue would be vital to reach an agreement where Afghanistan becomes a stable, peaceful and prosperous country. It was also stressed that taking the Afghan peace process forward remained a shared responsibility, according the foreign office.

An official handout said that during the meeting with Khalilzad, PM Imran reiterated Pakistan's commitment to remain engaged with the US and other stakeholders in facilitating the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

Recalling his recent interaction with President Donald Trump in Washington, the Prime Minister emphasized that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was in the interest of Pakistan as well as of the broader region.

He also expressed satisfaction at the evolving international consensus and interest in fully supporting efforts to achieve long term peace and stability in Afghanistan.

In the context of his recent visit to the United States, the PM underlined the importance that Pakistan attaches to a broad-based and enduring relationship between the two countries.

Earlier, a high-level meeting was held at the Prime Minister's Office to review the outcome of the PM's visit to the US and summit meet.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Zaidi, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, SAPM on Oveseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Director General ISI Lt. Gen. Faiz Hamid, Ambassador – at- Large Mr. Ali Jehangir Siddiqui and senior officials.

The premier expressed his satisfaction on the successful visit and acknowledged the vision of President Trump regarding peace in the region and Pak-US bilateral relations.

The forum also discussed measures to carry forward the decisions of the visit to execution phase staying in close coordination with US authorities including President Trump's visit to Pakistan.