ISLAMABAD - Next United States-Taliban talks may be held in Islamabad – possibly today (January 19), officials said.

US Special Representative on Peace and Reconciliation in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad Friday held a meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi here to discuss the Afghan issue.

Officials told The Nation that Khalilzad wanted the next session in Islamabad which was being ‘considered’ by Islamabad. “We can possibly have a meeting with the Taliban in Islamabad on January 19 or later,” said one official.

He added: “Both Pakistan and the US want to resolve the Afghanistan issue and all stakeholders were actively participating in the peace process.”

Pakistan, another official said, is likely to invite Afghan Taliban to Pakistan and for the proposed talks. “All parties have to agree on the proposal,” he said.

The official said a delegation of Afghan Taliban leaders could travel to Islamabad for the talks if everything is settled. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are expected to join.

This week, Pakistan, the United States and Afghanistan intensified efforts for peace. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made a telephone call to Prime Minister Khan to discuss the recent efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan when US Special Representative for Peace and Reconciliation in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad was in Islamabad to meet Pakistani counterparts.

Prime Minister Imran Khan assured President Ghani that Pakistan was making sincere efforts for a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan through an inclusive peace process as part of shared responsibility, said an official statement.

President Ghani invited PM Khan to visit Afghanistan at his earliest convenience. Prime Minister Khan also invited President Ghani to visit Pakistan.

Simultaneously, Zalmay Khalilzad held delegation level talks with the Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua. Khalilzad discussed developments in the Afghan reconciliation process with the Pakistani side. Ambassador Khalilzad was accompanied by an interagency delegation representing Departments of Defence, State and National Security Council. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua was assisted by senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence. This is Ambassador Khalilzad’s fifth trip to the region.

Pakistan, US and Afghanistan are trying to convince the Afghan Taliban to hold talks with all the stakeholders. The Afghan Taliban are insisting on holding the dialogue only with Washington. The US-Taliban talks are now facing a deadlock over this disagreement.

Khalilzad had met Taliban representatives last month in Abu Dhabi and later visited Afghanistan, China and India as part of his four-nation trip which ends January 21. Senior US official Lisa Curtis was also in Islamabad and US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells is expected anytime.

Before coming to Pakistan, Zalmay Khalilzad met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah, and political leaders to discuss the next steps in US efforts to support and facilitate an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Zalmay Khalilzad thanked Pakistan for its efforts to facilitate the latest round of peace talks with the Afghan Taliban.

Khalilzad met Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as part of a mission to expedite the Afghan peace process as the war in the war-torn country enters its 19th year.

During the meeting, Qureshi reaffirmed Islamabad’s stance to facilitate the peace process and stressed that bringing peace in the region was a shared responsibility, the foreign ministry said.

Khalilzad appreciated Pakistan for brokering the recently-held talks between the US and Afghan Taliban representatives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. “We respect Islamabad’s efforts to push for the Afghan peace process,” he said.

The three-day parleys were attended by representatives of the Afghan Taliban, the US as well as officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

 It was the first time that the Taliban’s military and political leaders attended a negotiation – something that has renewed hopes of a possible peace deal. Previously, the Taliban were only represented by their political office in Qatar.

The presence of the Taliban leaders like Mullah Amir Mutaqi, Qari Yahya, Mullah Mohibullah Hamas and Mullah Abbas Akhund at UAE talks suggested seriousness of the Taliban towards the latest round of discussions facilitated by Pakistan.

The latest push for a peace came after President Donald Trump wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking Pakistan’s help for the negotiated settlement of the Afghan conflict.

In the letter, the US had sought Prime Minister Imran Khan’s full support to advance Afghan peace process. The correspondence came after Trump accused Pakistan of “doing nothing” despite receiving “billions of dollars” in aid.

PM Khan had hit back to the allegations by advising Washington to assess its efficiency in the war on terror instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for its failure.