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Pakistan and the US are in talks to reopen Afghan peace talks


In February, the US and the Taliban signed an agreement aimed at ending the US's long war in Afghanistan.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - According to a statement by the US Afghanistan Peace Representative and Pakistan Army Chief, the Afghan government and the Taliban are in talks to begin the peace process. First.

US special envoy for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, met with Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Islamabad on Sunday, the Pakistan military said in a statement.

"Both Eid's ceasefire and the release of recently closed prisoners, as well as the progress made to reduce violence before the Afghan negotiations, have been identified," the US statement said Monday.

Khalilzad expressed his admiration for Pakistan's role in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table.

"The compliance of both in Afghanistan presents an unprecedented opportunity to develop security, connectivity, and development for the region," the US statement said.

The Pakistani military said at the meeting that it was discussing the return of more than two million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan for decades and maintaining a 2,500-kilometer border between the two countries.

Pakistan launched border fencing three years ago to stop the movement of Taliban fighters, which the Afghan government has rejected as it disputes the border situation.


In February, the US and the Afghan Taliban signed a landmark treaty aimed at ending the US's long war in Afghanistan since 2001.

The deal, signed in Qatar's capital, Doha, called on the Taliban to withdraw US troops next year in exchange for a security guarantee. It called for a prisoner exchange between Kabul and the Afghan armed group.

The Taliban-U.S. Agreement did not represent the Afghan government but was negotiated between Kabul and the Taliban.

After initially denying some of the terms of the deal, the Afghan government has softened its stance in recent weeks, leading to the release of many Taliban prisoners.

A three-day ceasefire broke out between the two sides for the Muslim festival Eid on May 23, before the violence erupted once again.

The United States announced Friday that it is targeting fighters and commanders in the western Farah and southern Kandahar provinces and recommending an airstrike on the Taliban.

The airstrike came the day after a roadside bomb in northern Kunduz province killed seven civilians and exploded in a mosque in Kabul, the capital.

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