Washington: Diplomatic sources say Pakistan has a key role to play in new US diplomatic initiatives to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan.

As part of these measures, National Security Adviser Moeed Yousef and Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed are expected to hold talks with their US counterparts in Washington next week.

Sources say the measures include US Secretary of State Anthony Blankenship’s visits to New Delhi and Kabul aimed at developing a regional response to the Afghan crisis.

During a recent briefing in Washington, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Biden administration “expects Afghanistan’s neighbours to play a constructive, responsible role in finding a just and lasting solution to the Afghan conflict.”

In the same briefing, he also highlighted Pakistan’s role in the peace process and said, “We understand the important role that Pakistan has the potential to play in this regard.”

This will be the second meeting between Moeed Yousef and his US counterpart Jack Sullivan, who first met in Geneva in March this year.

The meeting in Geneva was the first high-level face-to-face meeting between the two countries since the Biden administration took office.

Secretary Anthony Blinken has twice before spoken to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa.

Similarly, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has also been in touch with General Qamar Bajwa