The US State Department has said that the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalizad departed on May 5 for India, Pakistan and Qatar.
In Doha where the Taliban has its diplomatic office, the Special Representative will meet members of the Taliban and press for a complete implementation of the US-Taliban agreement that was signed on February 29.
The agreement has fallen apart with an increase in violence and the elected Afghan government refusing to release 5000 Taliban prisoners, a key demand of the Taliban. This has also prevented the Intra-Taliban and Afghan government talks that were scheduled for March 7 from taking place.
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India while welcoming this agreement cautioned against ignoring the claims of the elected government in Kabul.
The Special Representative will also visit India and discuss India’s role in the reconstruction of the war-torn nation. India has already lent more than USD 4 billion for critical projects in the nation and continues to enjoy the goodwill of the Afghan people.
The Special Representative will also be visiting Islamabad which has been a perpetrator of all violence in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban is fully controlled by Pakistani intelligence.
India is yet to respond to this development.