KABUL: In order to discuss the flagging Afghan peace process, Afghan President Hamid Karzai will travel to Brussels on Tuesday to hold talks with US Secretary of State of State John Kerry and senior Pakistani officials, an Afghan presidential spokesman said on Monday.
After weeks of tension relating to border disputes and the peace process, the meeting had been arranged by Kerry in order to repair relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Karzai’s chief spokesman Aimal Faizi said in Kabul.
On Sunday, senior officials from Pakistan and the United States held talks to break the apparent deadlock in efforts to reach out to the Afghan Taliban for a peaceful end to a decade-long war.
A high-level US delegation, led by US acting special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan David Pearce, travelled to Islamabad to meet senior Pakistani civil and military officials. He was assisted by Special Assistant to US President Lt Gen (retd) Dagulas Lute, Principal Assistant Secretary of Defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Dr Peter Lavoy and Ambassador Richard Olson.
The American delegation met with Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Rawalpindi. Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani was also in attendance.
The focus of discussions, a foreign official disclosed, was on how to give fresh impetus to the Afghan reconciliation process, which is believed to have been making little headway because of mistrust among the key players.
The release of Taliban prisoners has been suspended indefinitely due to strained ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kabul has accused Islamabad of sabotaging peace efforts. Pakistan has denied the charge saying it remained committed to the reconciliation process.
