Khalilzad, Janjua hold talks

US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad arrived here on Thursday and held talks with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua on possible advancement of Afghan peace process, as Taliban remained reluctant to hold direct dialogue with Kabul. According to Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal, the top visiting diplomat Ambassador Khalilzad held a delegation-level meeting with the Foreign Secretary Janjua to discuss developments in the Afghan reconciliation process.
Ambassador Khalilzad was accompanied by an interagency delegation representing Departments of Defence, State and National Security Council. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua was assisted by senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence, he added. He said Ambassador Khalilzad briefed the Pakistan side on his recent engagements in the region and lauded Pakistan's efforts in facilitating direct talks between Taliban and the US in Abu Dhabi last month.
"Foreign Secretary reiterated Pakistan's commitment to facilitate Afghan reconciliation process to realise the shared goal of peace and stability in the region. It was noted that taking the Afghan peace process forward remained a shared responsibility," the spokesperson asserted.
He said the two sides agreed that ultimately the intra-Afghan dialogue would be vital to agree upon the contours of a future Afghan polity where Afghanistan becomes a stable and prosperous country and at peace with its neighbours. This is Ambassador Khalilzad's fifth trip to the region. Ambassador Khalilzad would call on Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi today (Friday).
Diplomatic sources told Business Recorder that Pakistan was also engaged with the Afghan Taliban and was making efforts to persuade them also to engage with the Afghan government, as the group had repeatedly rejected the calls to enter in dialogue process with the Afghan government. "We are trying our level best to persuade them [Taliban] to sit with the Afghan government too because we believe that dialogue is the only solution to the Afghan conflict. But, the efforts so far have yielded no fruit as they are reluctant to hold direct talks with the Afghan government," a senior government official told this correspondent on condition of anonymity.
The official said if the ongoing efforts succeeded in perusing the Taliban to sit with the Afghan government, it would be followed by another round of dialogue process in which representatives of the Kabul will also be participating. "I believe there is a little hope that the Taliban will show any flexibility in their stance to enter in direst talks with the Afghan government," the official said while responding to a question.