Afghan-Taliban delegation arrives in Pakistan to push forward peace process

Islamabad: A high-level Afghan-Taliban delegation arrived here on Wednesday to hold talks with the top Pakistani leadership as part of efforts to push forward the reconciliation process, amid growing incidents of violence in Afghanistan.

The Taliban Political Commission (TPC), headed by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is on a December 16-18 visit to Pakistan, according to the Foreign Office (FO).

“During the visit, the delegation will meet with the Foreign Minister and call on the Prime Minister,” the FO said.

The visit comes after a delegation led by US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, on Monday met Pakistan’s Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and discussed with him the ongoing Afghan peace process.

Baradar and his delegation were summoned to Islamabad from Qatar, where they have been negotiating since September with Afghan government representatives, officials close to the talks said.

The delegation will discuss issues of mutual interest, in particular, problems of refugees, relaxation and facilitation of Afghan’s movement to Pakistan, as well as issues faced by Afghan traders.

The visit of the TPC delegation is part of Pakistan’s policy to reach out to key Afghan parties in the peace process with a view to facilitating the Intra-Afghan Negotiations that commenced in Doha on September 12, 2020.

“Pakistan will continue to support an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement for durable peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region,” said the FO.

It is the second visit of the TPC delegation this year after it visited Pakistan in August.

Afghanistan has been witnessing an increase in deadly attacks for the past few months. Four people were killed in a separate bombing and shooting attacks in the country on Tuesday.

Three people were killed in Kabul in separate bomb and gun attacks on Sunday.

The Afghan government and Taliban representatives earlier this month said they had reached a preliminary deal to press on with peace talks, their first written agreement in 19 years of war.

The agreement comes months after the landmark intra-Afghan peace talks began in Doha. It lays out the way forward for further discussions and will allow negotiators to move on to more substantive issues.

The meetings in Islamabad will take place at a time when US President Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of more American soldiers from Afghanistan, leaving around 2,500 troops behind in the strife-torn country.