US special envoy and former peace negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad was in Pakistan today, and reportedly spent over an hour meeting with a top Taliban delegation, the first such meeting since President Trump declared the peace talks “dead.”
Details on what Khalilzad discussed have not been disclosed, but this
comes just a day after the Taliban delegation met with Pakistan’s
Foreign Minister, and asked him to intervene to help get the peace talks
restarted. Pakistan agreed, and before long Khalilzad was in Islamabad.
Media reports said there were no formal negotiations at today’s meeting,
but that the Taliban aimed to build confidence to try to get the talks
going again. The Taliban reportedly reiterated their commitment to the
existing deal.
The State Department has declined comment on the matter, and President
Trump hasn’t said anything either. Most recently Trump suggested it was
likely impossible for the Taliban to make up for the death of a US
soldier a couple of months ago, which was his reasoning for scrapping
the peace process in the first place.
US Envoy Meets With Taliban Delegation in Pakistan
First meeting between US, Taliban in weeks
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