Kabul/Islamabad
Talks to end the 18-year-old conflict in Afghanistan may begin this month, sources said on Monday, a day after the US special envoy visited Islamabad and met Taliban leaders in Qatar.
The United States signed a troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban in February, but its attempts to usher the insurgent group towards peace talks with the Afghan government have been mired in setbacks and violence surged in March and April.
The Taliban’s spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said on Twitter that US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad had discussed “the commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations” at the insurgent group’s political capital, Doha, on Sunday.
Khalilzad had earlier met Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, according to the US Embassy in Islamabad.
“The two took note of recent progress created by the Eid ceasefire and accelerated prisoner releases as well as reduced violence ahead of intra-Afghan negotiations,” the Embassy said on Monday. “(They) discussed steps required for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations.” Disagreement over the Taliban’s demand for the release of 5,000 prisoners has also blocked progress towards resolving the conflict, in which Pakistan is considered a key regional player.
