Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and US to resume peace talks with Taliban

Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and US to resume peace talks with Taliban

Islamabad (Staff Report): Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the United States met in Muscat in a bid to restore peace talks with Afghan Taliban, official sources said.

In four nation huddle, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua was heading the Pakistani delegation.

Other parties, including United States, China did Afghanistan did not make any comment regarding the process.

The four-nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QGC), which met last year, has been making effort to bring Afghan government and Taliban on a table to resolve the issues.

Amin Waqad — a close aide to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, during last week hinted at joining the talks by the Afghan government and Taliban team in Muscat.

It is not confirm yet whether any representative from Taliban side participated in the meeting, which failed in 2015.

Media reports suggest that Taliban had announced not to be part of the negotiation in Muscat, questioning the success of peace talks, which have reportedly been revived on efforts made by Pakistan.

On the other hand, the Taliban has clarified that they did not receive any invitation regarding the talks.

Last year, the Taliban refused to carry on talks after their leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur was killed during a strike by US drone in Pakistan’s premises.