US ropes in its veteran collaborator Khalilzad for Afghan-Taliban talks

Washington DC: The US has roped in veteran diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table and help America with the reconciliation efforts in the war-torn country.

Khalilzad, 67, Afghan-born former US ambassador in Kabul, is well known in the region and is highly respected across communities and stakeholders in the country.

The latest move, announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is expected to give a big boost to the reconciliation efforts in the war-ravaged country.

Talking to reporters travelling with him hours before landing in Pakistan, Pompeo announced that Khalilzad has been named as a special adviser on seeking reconciliation in Afghanistan.

"Khalilzad is going to join the State Department team to assist us on the reconciliation effort, so he will come on and be the State Department's lead person for that purpose," Pompeo said.

The task of Khalilzad is going to be working with top officials of the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department and focus on developing opportunities to get the Afghans and Taliban to come to a reconciliation, Pompeo said.

"That will be his singular mission statement," he said.

While in Pakistan, Pompeo is expected to press the new government to target all terror groups on its soil and play a positive role in war-torn Afghanistan when he meets the country's new leadership in a bid to reset the strained bilateral ties.

Sources said that the situation in Afghanistan, talks with the Taliban, action against the Haqqani terror network and other militant groups, issue of suspension of US aid and other bilateral and regional issues will be discussed.

"We need Pakistan to seriously engage to help us get to the reconciliation we need in Afghanistan... They have important interests, security interests in Afghanistan to make sure they get the issues at their border right, and we need their help," Pompeo said.

The Haqqani network, believed to be behind a number of kidnappings and attacks against US interests in Afghanistan, was accused of bombing the Indian mission in Kabul in 2008 that killed 58 people. The attack was believed to be among the deadliest in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The attack was believed to be carried out at the behest of the ISI.

In 2012, the US designated the Haqqani network as a terrorist organisation. Three years later, Pakistan also banned the Haqqani network as part of its National Action Plan.

The group is the bone of contention between Pakistan and the US as the latter accuse that Haqqani militants were still using Pakistani soil to launch attacks - a charge denied by

Pakistan.