Move FM Global News

DOHA, Qatar – Talks with the Taliban are set to resume on Doha, the Qatar capital.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, arrived in Doha on Friday night.

“Just got to #Doha to resume talks with the Taliban. We are pursuing a #peace agreement not a withdrawal agreement; a peace agreement that enables withdrawal,” Khalilzad tweeted soon after arriving.

Khalilzad spent Thursday in Pakistan, following President Trump’s recent meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House.

It is understood Khalilzad met with Khan (pictured), also with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chief of army staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa on his stop-over at Islamabad, the Pakistan capital.

Prime Minister Khan reportedly reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to engage with the Taliban and assist the U.S. and other stakeholders in facilitating the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, according to a statement issued by his office.

It was Pakistan that initiated the current series of negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban. It has also facilitated talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.