KABUL - Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Dr. Omar Zakhiwal, on Wednesday met the US special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan hours before attending a fifth round of the four-nation talks in Islamabad.
The Afghan Embassy in Islamabad in a statement said Zakhilwal discussed with the US special envoy the fifth meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) that began in Islamabad this afternoon.
The group, made up of officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China, has been engaged in efforts to facilitate direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The Afghan government has said its ambassador in Islamabad would represent the country in the latest talks and refused to send its delegation until Pakistan lives up to its promises of crackdown on Taliban militants on its soil.
But Pakistan says the use of force against Afghan Taliban is unviable until all peaceful options are exhausted.
Zakhilwal also discussed other important subjects with Daniel F. Feldman, the statement said, without giving further details.
A day earlier, Zakhiwal said he would lead the Afghan delegating in the latest four-way talks and would insist on implementation of the agreed roadmap for peace.
He had said the roadmap approved in the group’s meeting in February had not been implemented.
The four-nation group was created after the Heart of Asia conference in December 2015 on Afghanistan and since then the group had held four meetings in Islamabad and Kabul.
The last meeting of the group that took place in Kabul in March had decided that Pakistan would bring the Taliban to the negotiating table for direct talks with the Afghan government and would take action against irreconcilable elements. (Pajhwok)