On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and a delegation of Taliban held a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Pakistan, where Qureshi urged the Taliban to initiate talks with the Afghan government in order to end the decades-old conflict.
In a statement after the meeting, Qureshi said, “Pakistan is eager to see an intra-Afghan dialogue start soon to ensure regional peace and stability.”
The meeting was conducted because of Afghanistan’s peace process being stalled over disagreements on a prisoner swap between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Diplomats state that the rising violence in Afganistan is eroding trust needed for the peace talks.
“We deliberated on the complications, and what could be their solution,” Qureshi said in a media briefing.
Diplomats also mentioned that Pakistan has been persistent over a reduction in violence and easing the path for peace talks.
Pakistan’s spy chief Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, also attended Tuesday’s meeting.
Analysts say that ISI had close relationships with armed groups in Afghanistan since the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afganistan in the 1980s.
Analysts claim that ISI continues to maintain some influence over the Taliban.
A senior advisor on Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration, Barnett Rubin, told Reuters, “Pakistan has a lot of leverage, short of military options, including allowing and restricting the Taliban’s mobility.”