ISLAMABAD -- Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, arrived in Islamabad Tuesday (December 4) for meetings with the political and military leadership in an effort to bring the Afghan Taliban to peace talks, Dawn reported Tuesday.
Khalilzad's visit comes one day after US President Donald Trump wrote to Prime Minister Imran Khan to request Islamabad's "assistance and facilitation in achieving a negotiated settlement of the Afghan war", according to a Monday (December 3) statement by Pakistan's foreign ministry.
Khalilzad will also travel to Afghanistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Belgium, the UAE and Qatar in in his trip that will last until December 20.
"He will meet with Afghan government officials and other interested parties to support and facilitate an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan, empowering the Afghan people to decide their nation's fate," according to a statement by the US State Department.
