US envoy on Afghanistan Khalilzad holds talks with Pak Foreign Minister

Press Trust of India  |  Islamabad 

US on Khalilzad Friday held talks with and discussed efforts to speed up the Afghan peace process by involving the

said Khalilzad called on Qureshi.

"He briefed Qureshi on his recent engagements in the region for Afghan peace and reconciliation process," Faisal said.

"The FM assured of Pakistan's support for the peace process," he tweeted.

Earlier, a statement issued by the on Thursday after Khalizad's meeting with Janjua said that the two sides agreed on "intra-Afghan dialogue" to end more than 17-year-long Afghan war.

Khalilzad is touring the regional countries ahead of a proposed meeting with the in

Pakistan's support is considered vital for moving forward the peace process in due to historic influence of over the

Pakistan's recent efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table have been recognised by the US and Afghanistan.

Afghan Thursday called and thanked him for the efforts for peace.

Khalilzad has held three rounds of talks with the Afghan Taliban in order to reach a settlement that would allow the US to withdraw its and end a 17-year-old war America's longest. It is Khalilzad's fifth trip to the region.

The said last week that Khalilzad was visiting India, China, and Afghanistan from January 8 to seek the settlement of the Afghan problem.

He has already visited and met on January 10.

The was in this weekend and held talks with senior Chinese officials.

The Afghan peace initiative has been moving at a snail's pace due to refusal of the Taliban to sit for talks with the officials.

has been playing a crucial role in the process and last year released senior Taliban Mullah from imprisonment, who is reportedly in

Baradar was deputy to the late Taliban supreme He was arrested from in a joint Pakistan-US operation after reports that he was independently trying to conclude a deal with

has been a key stakeholder in the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. It sent two former diplomats in "non official" capacity to a conference on Afghan peace process in in November which was attended by a high-level Taliban delegation.

has been maintaining a policy of not engaging with the Taliban and pressing for an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace initiative to bring peace and stability in the war-ravaged country.

Khalilzad visited Pakistan in October before flying to Doha, where he reportedly held talks with the Taliban representatives.

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First Published: Fri, January 18 2019. 15:41 IST