Pakistan hails resumption of US-Taliban talks

Pakistan Thursday welcomed the resumption of the US-Taliban talks after a pause of almost three months, as President Donald Trump had called off the peace process.

"Pakistan welcomes the announcement regarding resumption of the US-Taliban talks. We hope that it will lead to intra-Afghan negotiations and ultimately to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan," said Spokesperson Foreign Office Dr Mohammad Faisal.

He said that Pakistan encourages all the parties to the conflict to engage constructively as a shared responsibility. "Pakistan has always maintained that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. An inclusive peace and reconciliation process, involving all segments of the Afghan society, is the only practical way forward," he added.

The development comes after US President Trump paid a surprise trip to Afghanistan on November 28, 2019 to celebrate Thanksgiving with the US troops where he also announced the resumption of peace talks with the Taliban.

It was followed by US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad'a visit to Kabul on Wednesday to take the Afghan government into confidence over Trump administration's decision to resume the stalled peace process.

On Wednesday, the US State Department announced that Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad departed for Kabul and Doha. In Kabul, Special Representative Khalilzad will meet with the Afghan government representatives and other Afghan leaders to follow up on President Trump's recent visit and to discuss how best to support accelerated efforts to get all parties to intra-Afghan negotiations.

In Doha, the statement added that Ambassador Khalilzad will rejoin talks with the Taliban to discuss steps that could lead to intra-Afghan negotiations and a peaceful settlement of the war, specifically a reduction in violence that leads to a ceasefire.