Pakistani and Taliban leaders are urging a resumption of Afghanistan peace negotiations as soon as possible after President Trump scrapped a potential deal last month citing an attack in Kabul claimed by the Taliban that killed an American soldier just prior to a planned landmark summit at Camp David.

Following a rare meeting in Islamabad between the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and a 12-member Taliban delegation, a representative for Pakistan’s foreign office said that “both sides agreed on the need for the earliest resumption of the peace process.”

The Taliban and the U.S. appeared earlier this year on the verge of a breakthrough deal to bring the bulk of U.S. troops home from Afghanistan and commence direct peace talks with the U.S.-backed government in Kabul. Nearly a month ago, Mr. Trump declared the ongoing peace talks “dead” just days before leaders from the Afghan government and the Taliban were set to meet on U.S. soil.

Mr. Trump had made ending America’s “endless wars” in the Middle East a key campaign promise. Despite horrific Taliban attacks and little indication the group would accept a formal cease-fire, the administration had spent months forging ahead with diplomatic talks led by U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.

The latest Islamabad meeting with the Taliban aligned with a visit by Mr. Khalilzad who also met with Pakistani officials.

Mr. Quershi said the Taliban delegation was set to meet with the U.S. representative, but did not provide further details, The Associated Press reported. Before coming to Pakistan, the Taliban delegation reportedly traveled to Russia, China and Iran.

“Khalilzad is here and he has been in talks with them,” Mr. Quershi said. “He is fully aware of each and everything [being said] and has played a positive role in this process. God willing, he will also meet with [the Taliban].”

A State Department spokesperson confirmed to the AP that Mr. Khalilzad has spent several days in Islamabad this week for talks with Pakistani officials, building on discussions held between Mr. Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week. The spokesperson said the talks do not signal an imminent restart of the Afghan peace talks.

Mr. Trump on Thursday said the U.S. has “been hitting the Taliban very, very hard” since the death of an American soldier from Puerto Rico last month. “We have a real problem,” he said.

Mr. Trump has claimed the Taliban already regret their action in torpedoing the Camp David summit and has predicted they would soon be appealing for new talks.

The Taliban’s spokesperson Suhail Shaheen confirmed his organization’s meeting in a tweet Thursday morning.

“The Islamic Emirate delegation today held a detailed meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and senior officials in Islamabad. He also spoke on the relations between the two countries, political issues and peace,” Mr. Shaheen said.

He added that the foreign minister “promised that he would cooperate fully” in future peace negotiations.

It remains unclear whether the Trump administration will once again engage in talks.

Early drafts of the peace agreement reportedly would have withdrawn a little under half of the 14,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan come home and close several military bases across the country. More U.S. forces would come home in months after that.

In exchange, the Taliban would guarantee that Afghanistan will never again be used as a base from which terrorist groups can attack the West.

The collapse of the negotiations left the U.S. with few military options as intense fighting resumes, while the near complete lack of public and political support for an influx of ground troops means the Trump administration must search for new ways to put pressure on the Taliban.

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