Khalilzad departs after meeting COAS, PM

ISLAMABAD: Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad underscores the importance of economic and security benfits that peace can bring to the region.

A statement issued by the US Embassy in Islamabad said Khalilzad in his meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and other government officials discussed the current status of the Afghan peace process.

The statement also says that the envoy also spoke about the importance of reducing violence in the war-torn country.

Also read: PM Imran meets Khalilzad, reiterates support for Afghan peace deal

Khalilzad was on a two-day visit to Islamabad to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with the Pakistani leaders.

Prime Minister Imran Khan met US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Monday. In his meeting the PM reiterated Pakistan’s steadfast and sincere support to Afghan peace and reconciliation process.

The premier had stressed that it was important for all sides to take practical steps for checking violence in Afghanistan.

On Sunday, the top US negotiator was in Kabul to brief Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the peace efforts during his first trip back since the US president suddenly ended talks with the Taliban aimed at ending America’s longest war.

Also read: US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad in Kabul to brief Afghan government

Khalilzad's visit came after a flurry of low-key meetings that he has held, including with the Taliban this month, in Pakistan.

Talks with the Taliban on a plan to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban security guarantees were halted by Trump last month following the death of a US soldier and 11 other people in a Taliban bomb attack in Kabul.