Crucial round of US-Taliban talks to begins in Doha

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - A crucial round of talks in the Qatari capital between the U.S. and Afghan Taliban is set to kick off as Washington's top peace negotiator arrived in Doha late on Friday night.

Zalmay Khalilzad said on Twitter that he arrived in Doha to resume talks with Taliban.

"Just got to #Doha to resume talks with the Taliban. We are pursuing a #peace agreement not a withdrawal agreement; a peace agreement that enables withdrawal," Khalilzad said.

Underlining that the U.S. presence in Afghanistan was conditions-based, he said any withdrawal would also be conditions-based.

Khalilzad noted that the Taliban had signaled that it would like to conclude an agreement with the U.S. and that the Washington was also ready for a "good agreement".

Earlier on Thursday, Khalilzad arrived in Islamabad as part of a tour of the region following a seventh round of direct talks with the Taliban in Doha.

Khalilzad's trip was his first visit to Pakistan after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistani premier Imran Khan last month at the White House, where Islamabad agreed to persuade the Taliban to negotiate with the Kabul government -- a demand the militia had long been rejecting.

During his stay in Islamabad, Khalilzad met Khan, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chief of army staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, sharing the results of the seventh round of U.S.-Taliban peace talks in Doha and his recent engagements in Kabul.

During his meeting with Khalilzad, Khan reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to remain engaged with the U.S. and other stakeholders in facilitating the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, according to a statement from his office.

Last December, Pakistan confirmed that it had arranged rare direct talks between Washington and the Taliban, paving the way for a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan.

However, a breakthrough is yet to occur, with the Taliban having turned down repeated U.S. requests for inclusion of the Kabul government in the talks.

Pakistan also facilitated the landmark first round of direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Islamabad in July 2015, though this initiative broke down after the Taliban announced the death of their long-term leader Mullah Omer, triggering a bitter power struggle within the militant group.