‘Can solve it very quickly…’: Will Trump broker peace between Pakistan and Taliban? US President says ‘great people’ Munir and Shehbaz can…

Pakistan-Taliban war: US President Doland Trump has hinted that he would be willing to mediate a peace deal between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, asserting that he would get the conflict solved “very quickly”, as he hailed Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army chief Asim Munir as “great people”.

Will Trump help resolve Pakistan-Taliban conflict?

“I know them both … the Pakistan field marshal and the prime minister are great people, and I know we’re gonna get that done quickly. That one started up a few days ago,” Trump said while addressing an event on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia on Sunday.

Notably, Trump, who has campaigned hard to establish himself as a peacetime president, and claimed to have ended seven wars so far in his second term, was quick to express interest in assisting with establishing peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan when border clashes broke out between the two countries earlier this month, though the US president was at the time preoccupied with overseeing a hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel.

“I said, ‘I’ll have to wait till I get back. I am doing another one. Because I’m good at solving wars, I’m good at making peace,” Trump had said at the time.

Why Pakistan-Afghanistan Istanbul peace talks failed?

Meanwhile, the second round of peace talks between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban in Istanbul ended without a formal agreement on Sunday, though both sides agreed upon immediate de-escalation and reducing border tensions.

The two countries failed to reach a consensus on various issues, including the establishment of a joint-monitoring mechanism to curb the cross-border activities of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group allegedly operating from Afghan soil.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had threatened an “open war” against the Afghan Taliban if the peace talks between Kabul and Islamabad in Istanbul fail.

(With inputs from agencies)