By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), held a meeting with Pakistani army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif on Monday at which they reportedly discussed means of restarting stalled peace talks between the Taliban and Kabul.
Votel met Sharif at Pakistani army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi only days after an irate Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged Islamabad to fight the Taliban instead of trying to bring the militant group to the negotiating table.
Ghani had lashed out at Islamabad, which allegedly enjoys a degree of influence over the Afghan Taliban, shortly after the group announced the launch of its annual spring offensive.
At Monday’s meeting, Votel and Raheel discussed “matters of mutual and professional interest with special emphasis on the security situation in Afghanistan”, according to a statement released by the Pakistani army.
However, a senior Pakistani military official close to the talks — who spoke to Anandolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media — said the focus of talks was on means of restarting talks with the Taliban.
Pakistan brokered a landmark first round of direct talks between Kabul and the Taliban last summer, but the process broke down after the militant group announced the death of longtime leader Mullah Mohamed Omar, triggering a bitter internecine power struggle.
Since then, several attempts to resume the stalled Afghan peace process have been made by a four-nation group comprised of Pakistan, Afghanistan, the U.S. and China.
Until, now, however, these efforts have failed to bear fruit.
