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Taliban, US envoys in Pakistan to resume negotiations

In this photo released by the Foreign Office, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, center, receives members of Taliban delegation at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. (Photo by AP)

Kamran Yousaf
Press TV, Islamabad

Taliban leaders being greeted by the Pakistani Foreign Minister and the country’s intelligence chief.This is first ever public meeting between Pakistani officials and representatives of the Taliban since the militant group was ousted from power by the United States in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks.

The Taliban delegation in Islamabad is led by Mullah Baradar, who co-founded the Taliban movement and is currently heading the group’s political office in Doha.

Their meeting with Pakistani officials was aimed at discussing ways to revive the Afghanistan peace talks.

Last month US President Donald Trump abruptly called off a meeting with Taliban leaders at Camp David. He also pulled out of the talks seeking to end the United States’ longest war. 

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who previously held several rounds of talks with the Taliban in Qatar, is also in Islamabad and will meet the Taliban delegation.

This will be the first meeting between the US and Taliban delegations since Trump cancelled last month’s talks with the militant group.

Analysts believe the two sides need to address many issues before they can move forward. 

The US has failed to bring any semblance of peace to Afghanistan after it invaded the country under the guise of the war on terror in 2001. Observers believe that the US has already lost the war and now is desperately seeking a safe exit from Afghanistan.

The presence of Taliban leaders and the US envoy has raised the possibility of the resumption of the frozen peace process. What is uncertain at the moment is that whether the Taliban would agree to the terms of a truce and holding direct talks with the Afghan government.