ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s Special Representative on Regional Affairs for Consensus on Peace Omar Daudzai will arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday.
He is expected to discuss the peace talks between the United States and the Afghan Taliban in which Pakistan has acted in the capacity of a facilitator.
The Taliban regard the United States as its main adversary in the Afghan war and view direct talks with Washington as a legitimate effort to seek the withdrawal of foreign troops before engaging with the Afghan government.
The war in Afghanistan is America’s longest overseas military intervention. It has cost Washington nearly a trillion dollars and killed tens of thousands of people.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict have intensified since Taliban representatives began meeting with Khalilzad, an Afghan-born, U.S. diplomat last year. Officials from the warring sides have met at least three times, but fighting has not subsided.
Trump has come under withering criticism from fellow Republicans and international allies in recent days over his moves to wind down US involvement in Syria and Afghanistan, against the advice of his top aides and US commanders.
In his four-day visit, the Afghan delegate will hold talks with the Foreign Office, as well as convene a meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a personal capacity.
It has been reported that the US as well as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China are now trying to engage Pakistan again.
