Afghan Taliban delegation reached Pakistan

A 12 member contingent of the Afghan Taliban under the leadership of Mullah Baradar arrived in Islamabad here on Wednesday.

Official spokesman for the Taliban in a tweet confirmed their arrival prior.

American Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad is already in Islamabad indicating a possible restart for the recently ‘called off’ Afghan peace talks.

In this delegation the deputy political officer of Taliban’s Qatar office and chief of armed forces Mulla Fazal is also present.

Since Trump ended talks with Taliban, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and other officials have been urging the US to resume talks on ending nearly 18 years of fighting in neighboring Afghanistan.

The Taliban and the US said last month they were close to reaching a deal, despite concerns among some US security officials and within the Afghan government that a US withdrawal could plunge the country into even more conflict.

According to the sources this delegation will meet the high officials of the country while the political sector of the delegation will meet Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Earlier, the  Taliban’s delegation visited Russia, China and Iran.

According to the details, Taliban’s meeting with Afghan-American diplomat,  Zalmay Khalilzad is also expected.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrives Islamabad last night.

Be clear that the dialogues between US and Afghan-Taliban was officially started in July 2018 and ended in September 2019.

The US and Taliban said last month that they were close to reach a deal, despite concern among some US security officials and within the Afghan government that a US withdrawal could plunge the country into even more conflict.

But US President Donald Trump halted the talks following the death of a US soldier and 11 other people in a Taliban bomb attack in Kabul.