by Fatima Javed

Finally, the US and the Afghan Taliban are reportedly near a historic peace deal after months of on-off talks. They are now set to sign an agreement on Saturday in Qatar that will establish a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in exchange of guarantees from the Taliban not to allow groups to operate in their territory. It is expected that a mutual agreement between the Taliban and the United States would be followed by a phased American withdrawal and the start of intra-Afghan peace talks.

Pakistan and China have been playing significant role in Afghan peace talks and facilitated the US-Taliban peace process. Both countries adopted the same position and jointly urged the Taliban to immediately agree to a ceasefire and begin direct negotiations with the Afghanistan government to end the 18-year violence in the war-torn country. They also asked the relevant parties to grasp the opportunity for peace and start immediately the intra-Afghan negotiations between the Taliban, the Afghanistan government and other Afghans.

Pakistan was endorsed for bringing the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table. Pakistan during the initial reconciliation invited the Taliban political representatives to visit Pakistan and to explore options for the revival of the political negotiations between the Taliban and the U.S. The Taliban negotiators meeting with the U.S. peace envoy in Pakistan itself was an ice-breaker as it provided an opportunity for both sides to explore ways to bring the peace talks back on track.

Taliban's visit to Pakistan carried significant importance because as soon as the talks concluded in Pakistan, the U.S. authorities freed three senior Taliban leaders, as a major confidence building measure to move forward to break the deadlock in the peace negotiations. And in return, Taliban officials freed three Indian engineers. Pakistan also mediated a swap agreement for other detained Taliban militants and two foreign professors.

Moreover, Prime Minister Imran Khan played an active role on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly for the resumption of dialogue between the Taliban and the U.S.

China on the other hand invited Taliban representatives to participate in a two-day intra-Afghan conference in Beijing last year.

A Taliban delegation met with China’s special representative for Afghanistan to discuss peace talks with the United States. The Chinese special representative on the occasion showed his full support for the peace talk and considered Taliban deal as a good framework for the peaceful solution of the Afghan issue. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman also supported Afghans resolving their problems themselves through talks. Therefore, the Taliban visit to China was an important part of China promotion of peace talks.

In regard to the Afghan peace process, last year Pakistan-China-Afghanistan peace dialogue was also held, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib, Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi participated in the meeting. The top diplomats from the three countries deliberated on the Afghan peace and reconciliation process and the progress thus far made in regards to talks with Taliban.

Presently Prime Minister Imran Khan is also on his one-day visit to Qatar. He has reiterated Pakistan's continued support for an Afghan peace process and expressed the hope that all Afghan stakeholders would seize this historic opportunity to reach an inclusive political settlement for the establishment of durable peace and stability. It is therefore believed that his visit is apparently linked with signing of the historic peace deal.

The Afghan peace process refers to both the proposals and negotiations in a bid to end the ongoing war in Afghanistan. Although sporadic efforts have taken place since the war began in 2001, negotiations and the peace movement intensified in 2018 amid talks between the Taliban, which is the main insurgent group fighting against the Afghan government and American troops. So, the US-Taliban agreement is a step towards peace and is a key development in the peace process aimed at bringing an end to America's longest-ever war and has boosted hopes amongst a war-weary Afghan population.