Kabul to host meeting over Taliban peace talks
New Delhi, Dec 30: Afghanistan will host a meeting with officials from Pakistan, the United States and China next week to prepare the way for possible peace talks with the Taliban.
The preliminary meeting follows moves to try to revive the stalled peace process, which broke down in July after the news was announced of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar more than two years earlier.
The decision to hold the first round of preparatory meetings in Kabul follows Sunday’s visit to Afghanistan by the powerful head of the Pakistani army, General Raheel Sharif, who met President Ashraf Ghani to discuss the talks.
The United States and China, which is planning to invest billions in Pakistan, have both pushed strongly for peace talks involving Pakistan, accused by many in Afghanistan of harbouring Taliban leaders and sponsoring the insurgency.
