A Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the group’s deputy leader and the chief of the Doha office, on Wednesday met  Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad, TOLOnews reported.  Mullah Baradar led delegation is on a two-day visit to Pakistan at an invitation from Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. 

“The visit of [the] Taliban's Political Commission delegation is part of Pakistan’s policy to reach out to key Afghan parties in the Afghan peace process with a view to facilitating the Intra-Afghan Negotiations, that commenced in Doha on 12 September  2020,” said a statement released by Pakistan’s foreign ministry. 

The visit comes immediately after the Taliban and the Afghan team took a 23 days recess from the intra-Afghan talks in Doha, Qatar. Interestingly, just a day before, the US special representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad had also met with Pakistan’s top military in Rawalpindi. This is the 17th trip Khalilzad undertook since October 2018 when started the Afghan peace process. 

Both, the Taliban and Pakistan, is expected to discuss the regional situation, especially the Afghan Peace Process. The delegation will also meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday. 

Also on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Khan had a telephonic call with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and assured him that his country would do everything possible to reduce violence in Afghanistan leading to a permanent ceasefire. 

Despite the intra-Afghan negotiations, the violence level in Afghanistan remains very high. On Wednesday alone, the Afghan Interior ministry claimed that 13 Afghan soldiers and 7 Taliban fighters were killed in clashes in northern Baghlan province. 

Reports claim Pakistan, in this visit, is expected to persuade the Taliban for a reduction of violence. A statement released by the foreign ministry of Afghanistan stated that they were aware of the Taliban delegation’s trip to Pakistan and hoped that it would help reduce the violence in Afghanistan.