ISLAMABAD: A Taliban delegation met United States special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad in Islamabad on Thursday, news agency Reuters reported.
Citing official sources, the report said the meeting in Islamabad did not represent a resumption of formal negotiations between the US and the Taliban.
Quoting an official who requested anonymity, the report said “Pakistan played a big role” in arranging the meeting between Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban.
The meeting, according to the report, did not involve formal negotiations on the peace process but aimed at building confidence.
The US embassy in Islamabad and the State Department in Washington declined to comment on whether there had been a meeting between the Taliban and Khalilzad.
A State Department representative said Khalilzad had spent several days in Islamabad this week for consultations with authorities in Pakistan, but his meetings in Islamabad did not represent a restart of the Afghan peace process.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, would not confirm or deny that Taliban had met Khalilzad, adding that the Taliban delegation was still in Islamabad for meetings on Friday.
This is the first official meeting between the two sides since US President Donald Trump abruptly called off talks last month.
It is pertinent to mention here that a five-member delegation headed Zalmay Khalilzad is staying in Islamabad since last three days. A delegation of the Afghan Taliban under the leadership of Mullah Baradar had arrived in Pakistan on October 2.
