Afghan Taliban delegation meets Qureshi at foreign ministry – World

The high-level Afghan Taliban delegation currently in Islamabad to meet with the Pakistani leadership was received by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday morning, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO).

During his meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the delegation of the Taliban Political Commission (TPC) in Doha discussed the regional situation, the Afghan peace process and other matters of mutual interest.

The Director General of Intelligence between Services, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Sohail Mahmood, and other FO officials were present at the meeting.

According to the FO, this is the first visit of a Taliban delegation to Pakistan since the establishment of the TPC.

The FO had revealed an earlier agreement that an Afghan Taliban delegation would visit Islamabad to review the progress of the stalled peace talks between the United States and the Taliban.

"Both countries face the consequences of instability in Afghanistan in the last 40 years," Qureshi told the delegation. He also said that Pakistan understands that war is not the solution to any problem.

Qureshi said that to establish peace in Afghanistan, negotiations were the only possible and "positive" option.

The foreign minister said that Pakistan has played the role of mediator in the progress of Afghan peace and stressed that a peaceful Afghanistan was necessary for peace and stability throughout the region.

He expressed the hope that all parties resume the dialogue and that lasting peace and stability can be achieved without further setbacks.

Qureshi noted that the Afghan Taliban praised Pakistan's role in the peace process and that the attendees agreed to quickly restore the talks.

He said Pakistan will continue to play a mediating role with sincerity.

Visit of the Taliban delegation

"Pakistan has extended an invitation to the Taliban Political Commission (TPC) in Doha for a visit," the FO said in a statement the day before.

Shortly before the announcement, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen had said that mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder of the Taliban and head of his political office in Qatar, would lead the delegation during talks on important issues with Pakistani officials in Islamabad.

Baradar was the highest profile Afghan Taliban leader arrested by Pakistan following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

He was released from prison last October and appointed to head the political office of the insurgents in a movement seen as a tentative effort to help the talks.

The news of the visit came amid reports that the US special envoy for the Afghan peace process, Zalmay Khalilzad, was also in Pakistan.

Read: Jalilzad in Islamabad, seeks to revive Taliban talks

On Tuesday, Jalilzad had arrived in Islamabad to talk with Pakistani civil and military leaders about the revival of peace talks with the Afghan Taliban.

An American official who spoke with AP On condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media, he said that Jalilzad was not in Islamabad to resume the peace process.

Rather, the US peace envoy will follow up on the talks he had with Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, during the session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

It was not immediately known if Jalilzad will meet with the Taliban leader Baradar. The two men held several individual meetings during the many rounds of negotiations in Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office.

Taliban officials in recent days also visited Russia, China and Iran.

When asked if there was any chance that the insurgents would meet with Khalilzad, Shaheen said AFP: "Why not? It depends on the Americans."

The Taliban are still ready to sign the agreement that Khalilzad and Baradar had signed in Doha, he said.

“We defend it. The Americans have backed down and will have to take the initiative. "

The Taliban have said that the visit to Pakistan is the fourth stage of a tour that included Russia, China and Iran. A Taliban commander told AFP that Baradar and the other 11 militants will spend four days in Pakistan.