Skip to main content

Khalilzad briefs Ghani on peace efforts

KABUL: Zalmay Khalil­zad, the US envoy who led talks with the Taliban until negotiations collapsed last month, was in Kabul on Sunday meeting with top Afghan officials including President Ashraf Ghani.

His visit comes amid speculation the US is attempting to restart the effort to end America’s longest war, after President Donald Trump last month declared talks “dead”.

Explainer: How Trump upended US-Taliban peace talks

Khalilzad’s arrival in the Afghan capital coincided with the announcement that preliminary results from recent presidential elections would be delayed for nearly a month, a lengthy postponement likely to stoke political uncertainty and fraud allegations.

“Khalilzad met the president and briefed him about his recent activities,” Ghani’s spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said. “His viewpoints and the stance of the Afghan government for peace were discussed.”

“The aim of his visit is clear, to report to President Ghani on his recent visits and meetings in some countries regarding the Afghan peace process,” an official in Ghani’s office said. An Afghan politician confirmed that Khalilzad was in Kabul.

Sayed Hamid Gailani, leader of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, posted on his Twitter account that he had met Khalilzad and his team to discuss the country’s presidential elections and the peace efforts.

The US embassy in Kabul declined requests for comment, but officials said Khalilzad could next stop in Pakistan, which he also visited earlier this month and met informally the Taliban representatives.

Ahead of that visit, a senior Taliban source in Pakistan said the group had not “backtracked” from the talks, suggesting the ball was in America’s court for how things might proceed.

Experts say the US may want to resume its quest to pull troops out of Afghanistan, but first wants to see some sort of Taliban concession — such as a reduction in violence.

Ghani, whose government was cut out of negotiations, had sharply criticised the draft deal that was thought to be on the verge of completion following a year of negotiations.

Afghans went to the polls for a first-round vote on Sept 28, and initial results were supposed to have been released on Oct 19. But more than a week after saying the Independent Election Commission would miss that deadline, commission chairwoman Hawa Alam Nuristani said the results now would not be released until Nov 14.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2019



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/32TAstD
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sialkot police bust gang of robbers, seize over Rs20m looted cash

SIALKOT: Police on Tuesday claimed to have busted an infamous gang of robbers and seized Rs20.3 million looted cash from their possession, ARY News reported. A spokesperson for the police confirmed the arrests saying the eight-member gang had looted a pharmaceutical company’s truck full of medicine. He said the looted cash to the tune of Rs20.3 million was also recovered from their possession. The police said the recovered cash and truck have been handed over to their owner. Read More: Youngster battles for life as Punjab police ‘mistakenly’ opens fire on him Earlier, on June 20, Karachi police had apprehended six robbers allegedly involved in a bank robbery of Rs10.5 million last month. The robbers had produced Rs9 million from the bank robbery in front of the police after being taken under arrest. The police also recovered the weapons used by the criminals in the bank robbery. The gang was stated to have a previous record of robbing various places in the city, the police said. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Peshawar security forces kill four suspected terrorists

The Peshawar Counter-Terrorism Department personnel gunned down four suspected terrorists after raiding their hideout on the Kohat Road Monday. According to the security forces, the suspects were plotting an attack. A cache of weapons and ammunition has been seized too. On Monday evening, a special CTD team raided the hideout after surrounding it and exchanged fire with them. No CTD personnel was injured in the operation. from SAMAA https://ift.tt/2V8MRbn
Post a Comment
Read more

Headlines 9am: Karachi to face power outages, coronavirus cases rise

Here are the headlines from SAMAA TV’s 9am bulletin. Pakistan has begun reporting fewer coronavirus infections in the last couple of days. In the last 24 hours, 3,964 cases were reported with 105 deaths. Around 73,000 recoveries have been confirmed so far. Three people were killed in a collision between a motorcycle and ambulance on the Mehran highway. A child was injured as well. Robbers looted a house in Karachi’s Azizabad in broad daylight and in the presence of a policeman. The cop chased the thieves but they were able to escape. SAMAA TV has acquired a CCTV footage of the robbery. A terrorism bid has been foiled in Peshawar. During a raid, security forces eliminated four terrorists. A cache of weapons and ammunition has been recovered. Saudi Arabia has announced it would hold a “very limited” Hajj this year owing to the coronavirus pandemic, with pilgrims already in the kingdom allowed to take part. The Kingdom has informed Pakistan about it as well. Pakistan’s Religious A...
Post a Comment
Read more