WASHINGTON/KABUL: The US special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad held discussions on Monday with a senior Afghan official in Kabul over ways to accelerate the peace process, before heading to Qatar, where negotiations with Taliban representatives are ongoing.
US-brokered peace talks between the Afghan government and the militant group began in September but progress has slowed and violence has risen, while there is also uncertainty over whether international forces will pull out troops by May as originally planned.
The State Department said in a statement on Sunday that Khalilzad and his team were visiting Kabul and Qatar. It said the US diplomats would also visit other regional capitals as part of a mission aimed at working toward “a just and durable political settlement and permanent and comprehensive cease-fire”.
It did not provide dates or other details of where they intended to go, though Pakistan is a neighbor with keen interest in how the Afghan conflict plays out.
On Monday, Khalilzad discussed the peace process with Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, and he was also expected to meet other Afghan officials.
“Development of the peace process, accelerating the process and the assessment of the Doha peace agreement by the US new administration were main topics of the discussion,” said Fraidoon Khwazoon, a spokesman for Abdullah.
President Joe Biden’s administration is conducting a review of a February 2020 deal struck between the Trump administration and the Taliban to determine whether to stick by a deadline to withdraw the remaining 2,500 US troops from Afghanistan, and end America’s longest war.
The Taliban’s deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani made a speech on Friday, broadcast on the group’s media channel with excerpts posted on Twitter, warning the United States against going back on a commitment to withdraw.
“Today ....we have the technology to use drones, we have our own missiles. This time if the Mujahideen resume fighting the enemies, it would be something they have never seen before. They will wish the battlefield was like in the past,” he said, referring to Taliban fighters.
US and European officials have said the Taliban has not fulfilled commitments it made in an accord reached with the United States in Doha a year ago, that set up the move toward peace talks involving the Afghan government.
The Taliban has largely denied responsibility for a rash of attacks in Afghanistan since beginning talks with the government in September.
Pakistan watches as US envoy visits Kabul to speed up Afghan peace process
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Pakistan watches as US envoy visits Kabul to speed up Afghan peace process
- Zalmay Khalilzad held discussions on Monday with Abdullah Abdullah over ways to accelerate peace process
- US-brokered peace talks began in September but progress has slowed and violence has risen
Pakistan invites Bangladesh’s new prime minister for official visit in post-election outreach
- Planning minister Ahsan Iqbal attends swearing-in in Dhaka, proposes reviving regional cooperation
- Islamabad offers scholarships, connectivity and academic exchanges to expand bilateral ties with Dhaka
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formally invited Bangladesh’s newly elected prime minister, Tarique Rahman, to visit Islamabad, its information ministry said on Wednesday after senior minister Ahsan Iqbal met the new premier in Dhaka following the oath-taking ceremony.
The outreach signals a cautious attempt by the two South Asian nations to improve relations decades after the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, with diplomatic engagement historically limited and economic links underdeveloped compared with regional potential.
After former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted during the 2024 political upheaval and fled to India, relations between Dhaka and Islamabad began to normalize after years of near-frozen contact. For over a decade under Hasina’s Awami League government, Bangladesh had aligned closely with India and kept Pakistan at diplomatic arm’s length.
The political shift in Dhaka — culminating in the 2026 election victory of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Tarique Rahman — created space for engagement, including the relaunch of direct flights, high-level political and military exchanges, technical cooperation and business ties. The reset reflects broader regional dynamics: Bangladesh diversifying its diplomacy beyond India, and Pakistan seeking economic partnerships in South Asia amid a geo-economic foreign policy push.
“Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal conveyed a formal invitation from the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at a mutually convenient date,” a Pakistani information ministry statement said, quoting Iqbal who represented Islamabad at the oath taking.
“The two leaders discussed avenues to reinvigorate bilateral relations and enhance regional cooperation.”
The two sides discussed expanding cooperation in education, research and digital governance, including a proposed “Pakistan–Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor” to promote academic partnerships and student exchanges.
Islamabad said it had allocated 500 scholarships for Bangladeshi students, with 75 already traveling to Pakistan for higher education, and proposed closer coordination between national data and statistics institutions in both countries.
Officials also discussed improving direct flight connectivity to boost trade, tourism and business links, as well as cooperation in small and medium-sized industries and technology-enabled services.
The statement added that both sides supported stronger cultural engagement, including joint celebrations next year marking the 150th birth anniversary of philosopher-poet Muhammad Iqbal.
Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening ties and promoting regional stability and economic cooperation, the statement added.
