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On September 7, 2018, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani meets with US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, US Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass, and General Joseph F. Dunford, Chair of the United States Chiefs of Staff. WATKINS / AFP / Getty Images)
KABUL – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis paid a surprise visit to Kabul on Friday and held talks with Afghan government leaders on a peace process with Taliban insurgents and the escalating violence in the country.
Arriving in a capital city grappling with security concerns and political uncertainty ahead of next month's parliamentary elections, Mattis met with President Ashraf Ghani and General Manager Abdullah Abdullah, the presidential palace said. Relations between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, which Kabul has long accused of hosting activists attacking Afghan and US troops, are also among the topics discussed.
General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, traveled to Islamabad earlier this week with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on a mission to challenge relations with the new Pakistani government .
[[[[New US generals take over in Afghanistan as questions about US presence
Washington has frozen $ 800 million worth of military aid to Pakistan this year, accusing it of failing to control militants on its soil and pressuring leaders to agree to talks with the Afghan government.
"They discussed the peace process, the positive impact of South Asia's strategy, Afghan defense security reforms, upcoming elections, counter-terrorism and dialogue. with Pakistan, "said Harun Chakhansuri.
Mattis did not speak with reporters about the meeting that took place after months of heightened concern among Afghans about the deteriorating security situation. Attacks by Taliban insurgents and ISIS-affiliated organizations in recent weeks have left hundreds of Afghan security forces and civilians dead, with the government and US troops apparently not having managed to stop them.
Speaking with reporters before he arrived in Kabul, Mattis said he was hopeful about the Taliban peace talks, despite questions about Washington's strategy in Afghanistan.
"Currently, we have more indications that reconciliation is no longer just a shimmer, it's no longer just a mirage," Mattis said.
"He now has a frame. There are open lines of communication, "added Mattis.
[Taliban runs parallel state in many parts of Afghanistan, report says]
Last month, a senior State Department official met with Taliban officials in Qatar to try to lay the groundwork for broader peace talks and end the war that began 17 years ago. power in Kabul after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Including periods of Soviet occupation and civil war involving various factions, Afghanistan has been shaken by fighting for most of the last four decades .
The US government has pointed out that the Taliban agreed to a temporary truce in June to justify the hope of the talks.
"The most important job is to start the political process and reconciliation," Dunford told reporters traveling with him.
"What we are trying to do in the military field, is to convince the Taliban that they can not win on the battlefield and that they have to engage in a process of peace, "he said.
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