PM Imran Khan meets US peace envoy, pledges help on Afghan war

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met with a U.S. peace envoy on Wednesday and pledged his help to find a political settlement to the long-running war in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The visit to Islamabad by Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. special representative to Afghanistan, followed President Donald Trump’s request for Pakistan’s help in finding an end to the 17-year-old war between Taliban insurgents and the western-backed Afghan government.

Khalilzad, an Afghan-born U.S. diplomat who served as George W. Bush’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations, was named by Trump three months ago as a special envoy to negotiate peace in Afghanistan.

“The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s abiding interest in achieving peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan through political settlement,” Khan’s office said in a statement.

The Pakistani statement quoted Khalilzad as saying that the U.S. leadership looked forward to working with Pakistan in furthering the shared goal of peace.