Pakistan on Monday welcomed the new round of talks between Afghan Taliban and the US in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and reiterated its commitment to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. "Along with international community and other stakeholders, Pakistan is committed to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Talks are being held in UAE", Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said in a tweet.
"We hope this will end bloodshed in Afghanistan and bring peace to the region", he further said as member of the Taliban Doha office held talks with senior US officials. In a brief statement earlier Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that the Taliban's Qatar political office delegation will have another round of dialogue with the US in presence of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates representatives.
When asked to confirm the level of Pakistan's participation in the meeting, Foreign Office spokesperson preferred not to comment further on the issue.
However, another diplomat source maintained that the talks between the Taliban and the US government were arranged by Pakistan in the wake of the recent visit of US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to Pakistan, as part of the US initiative towards a political settlement of the Afghan conflict.
He said that initially talks are being held between the Afghan Taliban and the US, adding that if there was any progress in this round, it will be followed by another round of dialogue in which Afghan government may also participate. US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Khalilzad is leading the US delegation in the dialogue.
"The latest efforts to persuade the Taliban for the talks were launched following US President Donald Trump's letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan in which he had sought Pakistan's help in ending the Afghan war", he said, adding that Pakistan responded positively.
In the past, he pointed out that Pakistan had made it possible to bring Taliban and senior officials of the Afghan government for the first time to the negotiating table in Murree in July 2015.
However, the process died its natural death when the news related to Taliban's supremo Mullah Mohammad Omar's death filtered out from multiple sources.
Lt Gen Talat Masood, senior analyst, described it as a welcome development, saying that the US has finally acknowledged the important role Pakistan can play in the Afghan peace process.
"Although, Pakistan has stated many times that it has little influence with the Taliban, I believe Pakistan still has some leverage and can play a pivotal role in the Afghan peace process", he said, adding that there is need for the process to continue and "it should not be derailed due to some incidents like in the past."
He further said that the process needs to be backed by the Afghan government, regional and international powers. He also pointed out that China, being a major economic power in the region, is also making efforts with other regional countries such as Pakistan for peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.
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