In 2018, for the very first time, the US agreed to hold direct talks with the Taliban to end 17 years long war which brought immense economic and human resource loss to the US. Previously, administrations relied on troops to control Afghan turmoil by increasing the number of troops on the ground or vice versa. President Trump announced his South Asia strategy in which he pledged to resolve the Afghan war, to seek a political settlement, and to make the Afghan government strong. To this end, he calls regional actors to play their constructive role towards Afghanistan where Pakistan was the centre point to his talk. He encouraged Pakistan to enforce the Taliban to leave weapons and give up on weapons.
It is to be noted that President Trump sought concrete measures to resolve the issue following his new strategy. Taliban officials were given an office in Doha, Qatar to participate in peace talks where both parties had one on one talks. The US announced his readiness to pull out its troops once peace resolution is achieved. US officials including Mike Pompeo visited Pakistan and Afghanistan to create a suitable environment for talks and further policies. It is to be noted that the US has been taking part in negotiations related to the Afghan peace process like quadrilateral dialogue but never engaged with the Taliban so openly. On November 9, 2018, Moscow is holding multilateral talks on Afghanistan issues where Taliban delegation is also invited along with other stakeholders including the US. It presents the only meeting of its type where the US even ready to back the Russian initiative which may lead to peace in Afghanistan.
