Pakistan says 'near future' meeting between PM Khan and Trump unlikely

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Foreign Office said on Friday a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and US President Donald Trump was unlikely amid efforts by the United States to reach a negotiated settlement to end a 17-year-long war in Afghanistan. 
“No meeting is being envisaged,” foreign office spokesman Dr. Mohammed Faisal told Arab News, adding that no “modalities” for a future meeting had as yet been set.
At a weekly press briefing, Dr. Faisal said United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad was in Islamabad where he had met Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and held delegation-level talks with foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua separately. He is also expected to meet Pakistan’s top military brass.
Khalizad arrived earlier on Friday after a four day visit to Kabul and the conclusion of the fifth round of talks between the Taliban and the US in Doha last month.
The latest round of recurring peace talks ended in early March with both US and Taliban officials citing progress.
Khalilzad is in the region to try and set up a new round of talks to broker a peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government that could potentially see the safe exit of US forces from the region.
The foreign office said Khalilzad briefed Pakistani officials on the outcome of previous rounds of talks and shared updates on his meetings in Afghanistan and Doha.
Qureshi assured the special envoy that Pakistan would continue its “sincere” efforts to push forward the peace process.
The Taliban have so far refused to hold direct talks with the Kabul government, which it considers to be a foreign-appointed puppet regime.
A senior Pakistani foreign office official privy to the meetings between Khalilzad and the foreign minister told Arab News on condition of anonymity that there were strong signs talks between the warring Afghan Taliban and the United States were on the verge of collapse.
Khalilzad had urged Pakistan to negotiate a settlement, the official said.
“They want us to negotiate a victory for them in Afghanistan; how can we do that?” the official said. “They want us to broker a deal with the Taliban and we can’t do that.”
“We have repeatedly told the US that our role is limited,” he added.
The US Embassy in Islamabad declined to comment to questions by Arab News about discussion between the US and Pakistani officials.
On Thursday, Khalilzad had said relations between Islamabad and Washington would not improve until Pakistan revised its policies toward Afghanistan.
“We … are seeking that an agreement should be reached between Afghanistan and Pakistan that can result in peace and (can stop) the interferences Pakistan has made in Afghanistan,” Khalilzad said.
His comments were a veiled reference to reported remarks by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan last month that suggested Kabul should set up an interim government. Afghanistan recalled its ambassador from Pakistan over the comments.
Earlier, the US Department of State said Khalilzad’s trip was “part of an overall effort to facilitate a peace process that brings all Afghan parties together in inclusive intra-Afghan negotiations.”
The special envoy is also expected to make a stopover in Qatar, where the Taliban have long had a political office, during his tour which concludes on April 10.