A source confirmed that the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is in Kabul and will meet with Afghan officials including President Ashraf Ghani to discuss the peace process, which some close to the talks say has reached a new phase.
On Friday, Khalilzad visited Islamabad and met with Pakistani officials including Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and other government officials, according to a statement by the US embassy in Pakistan.
The statement said Ambassador Khalilzad discussed US efforts to facilitate a political settlement to end the war in Afghanistan.
He welcomed Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to support a reduction in violence that will pave the way for a US-Taliban agreement, intra-Afghan negotiations, and a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in support of a sustainable peace, the statement added.
Khalilzad also continued to emphasize the economic and security benefits that a lasting peace can bring to the region, the statement read.
