Pakistan has renewed its pledge to support Washington and Kabul for finding a political settlement to the 17-year-old conflict in Afghanistan.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy flew into the region to kickstart the peace process with the Afghan Taliban, who have been fighting the U.S.-backed Kabul government and rendered its governance ineffective in a large swathe of the territory.
Trump formally sought Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s help for a negotiated end to the Afghan war and recent reports suggest that the U.S. may also withdraw half of its 14000 troops currently deployed in Afghanistan.
On the eve of the American envoy Zalmay Khalilzad’s arrival, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told his Afghan counterpart that Pakistan is prepared to do all it can to put an end to bloodshed in the neighboring country, where the U.S. forces toppled the Taliban in the wake of 9/11 terror attacks.
The flurry of diplomatic meetings come amid an American research organization RAND Corporation’s leak of a draft agreement that would end the Afghan war.
Special Envoy Khalilzad will be in the region for two weeks and hold consultations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China to launch the Afghan peace process.
Ambassador Khalilzad, is leading an intra-agency delegation and will meet officials in these countries in order to “facilitate an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan”, according to the U.S. State Department.
The statement underscores the US’ desire to reach a “political settlement” to the Afghan conflict and “empower the Afghan people to chart a shared course for their nation’s future”.
“The United States supports the desire of the Afghan people and the international community for a political settlement that ends the 40-year conflict and ensures Afghanistan never again serves as a platform for international terrorism,” the State Department says.
The U.S. goal is to “promote dialogue among Afghans” and ensure that all concerned parties reach a solution that will allow “every Afghan citizen [to] enjoy equal rights and responsibilities under the rule of law”.
Khalilzad has had multiple meetings with the Afghan Taliban in Qatar with Pakistan playing a facilitating role.
According to Afghan TV network, TOLO News, the Afghan parties may invite the international community to form a small, limited “Afghanistan Support Team”.
The RAND Corporation-leaked document provides a blueprint for a potential peace agreement between the United States, the Taliban and the Afghan government and it has been shared with several senior Afghan officials and politicians in Kabul as well stakeholders in the region, the channel reports
The 49-page document titled “Agreement on a Comprehensive Settlement of the Conflict in Afghanistan” has drawn a lot of international attention as it reveals possible proposals for a final peace agreement.
The RAND document suggests that key parts of the document will include a declaration of a ceasefire, Taliban’s complete renunciation of links with the terrorist organizations, complete, phased ending of the current U.S. and NATO military mission over an 18-month transitional period.
It also reveals that the Afghan parties may invite the international community to form a small, limited “Afghanistan Support Team” focused exclusively on counter-terrorism.
Further, the document says, a series of new political arrangements within Afghanistan will include adoption of a new constitution within the 18-month transitional period and introduction of a new kind of presidential system with checks and balances.
