Pakistan army chief to visit Kabul on Sunday in push for Taliban talks

Pakistan’s army chief General Raheel Sharif will visit Kabul on Sunday to hold talks with top Afghan civil and military leaders, the Pakistan military announced on Friday.

The visit will take place amid reports of hectic efforts to restart talks with the militants who have been involved in bloody battles with Afghan security forces.
“COAS (Chief of Army Staff) will visit Kabul on Sunday, 27th December. During his day-long visit, (Sharif) will hold meetings with political and military leadership of Afghanistan” Pakistan army spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said on Twitter.

Reportedly the visit was discussed in Islamabad when President Ashraf Ghani agreed to take part in the Heart of Asia conference in Pakistan. Ghani had met Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and they talked about how to resume peace talks which were suspended in July when news of Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar’s death surfaced.

Afghanistan sees Pakistan’s support as vital to resuming a stalled peace dialogue with the Taliban and recently both countries have expressed resolve to work together in this regard.

The first open round of talks was held in early July in Pakistan which wields influence over the Taliban and can play a role in arranging peace talks with them.