Taliban delegation arrives in Pakistan to discuss Afghan peace process

(Karachi) A delegation of Afghan Taliban arrived in Islamabad on Monday (today) to discuss the Afghanistan peace process with senior Pakistani officials, media reported.

The delegation reached Islamabad from Qatar at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the Afghan peace process and other related issues.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry, had confirmed the other day that an Afghan Taliban delegation will be visiting Pakistan to discuss the way forward in the peace process.

In October last year, a 12-member delegation of the Afghan Taliban under the leadership of Mullah Baradar had held dialogues with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi after reaching the Foreign Office prior to signing a historic peace deal with the US in February 2020.

The delegation had appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for peace in the region.

In February, a deal was reached between the United States and the Taliban in which it was agreed that 5,000 Taliban prisoners will be released from Afghan prisons before peace talks between the militant group and the government. The government has so far released 4,600 prisoners.

The Loya Jirga, which was attended by more than 3,000 elders, community leaders and politicians, stated that intra-Afghan peace talks should begin immediately. It said that foreign prisoners, if any, should be handed over to their respective nations after receiving credible guarantees from their governments.

The jirga also decided that the freed prisoners should not return to the battlefield while permanent ceasefire should be imposed.

On August 10, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree to release the final batch of prisoners demanded by the Taliban as a condition to move to peace talks.

The Taliban had said that once the prisoners are released they would start peace talks within a week after months of delays since the United States signed a troop withdrawal deal in February.