Islamabad, March 09: in a green light to the overall Afghan peace process, the US special envoy for Afghanistan shared with Pakistan the new outlook of the USA President Joe Biden lead administration, seeking national elections under the transitional Afghan government, officials said on Monday.
The major points were on top of the agenda when Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad held talks with Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters in the Pakistan garrison city of Rawalpindi.
On the occasion, Khalilzad was accompanied by General Austin Miller, commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, and other officials while General Qamar was assisted by DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, Pakistan special envoy on Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and PM Special Assistant on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf.
halilzad’s visit, first under the Biden administration, came against the backdrop of desperate attempts by the US to seek a political end to the war in Afghanistan. Khalilzad flew from Doha where he held talks with the Afghan Taliban.
Experts state the new US plan is aimed at breaking the deadlock in the slow moving peace negotiations with a road map for a future Afghan government with Taliban representation, a revised Afghan constitution using the current one as an “initial template” and terms for a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.
It is worth pointing here that observers believe that the Biden administration appears to think that the Ghani administration is creating impediments to the peace deal and hence it has been given a clear message that the US might leave Afghanistan if Kabul did not respond positively to the new plan.
