Khalilzad, Gen Miller meet COAS

After holding discussions with Taliban leadership in Doha, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, and Resolute Support Mission Commander General Austin Scott Miller arrived here on Tuesday, and held talks with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

According to the US Embassy in Islamabad, Ambassador Khalilzad along with General Miller met with Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the general headquarters in Rawalpindi.

In a meeting with General Bajwa, Ambassador Khalilzad and General Miller discussed the United States' ongoing efforts for sustainable peace in Afghanistan. "Pakistan's military leaders reaffirmed their support for [the] US efforts and renewed their commitment to act to advance a political settlement to the conflict," the embassy stated in a statement.

Before arriving in Islamabad, the top US diplomat and the US forces commander in Afghanistan held meeting with a delegation of the Taliban's political office in Qatar led by Mullah Abdul Baradar and discussed with them the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan.

"A delegation of IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan], led by Mullah Bradar, Deputy Political Amir, IEA, and Head of Political Office met Dr Z Khalilzad and General S Miller Tuesday afternoon.

The meeting was hosted by Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdur Rahman Al-Thani, Foreign Minister and Deputy-Prime Minister of Qatar," said Suhail Shaheen, the spokesperson for the Taliban's Doha political office, in a tweet on Tuesday.

He further stated that they talked about complete implementation on the US-Taliban peace agreement signed on February 29, 2020 as well as delay in the release of the prisoners.

"Violations of the agreement and other issues and ways of their solutions were also discussed," he added.

The Taliban had recently threatened to resume full-scale attacks, if the February 29 peace agreement was not honoured, and also alleged the US and Afghan forces for targeting the civilian population under their armed group's control in Afghanistan.