RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: The United States has expressed the hope that stalled talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban would resume soon for lasting peace in the region.
The second round of Afghan peace talks were scheduled to be held in Pakistan on July 31; however, they were postponed at the request of the Afghan Taliban leadership after the reports surfaced about the death of Taliban Supreme Commander Mullah Muhammad Omar.
In a meeting with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif in Rawalpindi on Saturday, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Daniel Feldman appreciated Pakistan’s positive role for facilitating peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
“Hoped with all sincerity that talks would resume soon to bring lasting peace,” the US special envoy said according to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The ISPR said that issues related to the regional peace and security came under discussion during the meeting between them.
Pakistan also hosted the first round of talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in Murree on July 7 at which the representatives from the United States and China also participated as observers.
“Pakistan remains committed to supporting and facilitating an Afghan led and Afghan owned reconciliation process,” the Foreign Office Spokesman Qazi Khalilaullah said at his weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Thursday.
The spokesman said that peace in Afghanistan is not only in the interest of Afghan people but also the people of Pakistan.
