US envoy in new attempt to 'jump-start' Taliban talks

Renewed efforts are underway to jumpstart stalled peace talks with the Taliban as a U.S. envoy is in Kabul and Pakistani and Afghan officials are meeting in Islamabad.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad says he's holding meetings with officials in Kabul on Monday, seeking to bring about a new round of Afghan-to-Afghan talks, which he describes as essential to resolving the country's 18-year-long civil war.

The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks, inflicting staggering casualties on Afghan forces, and now control about half of Afghanistan.

Washington, meanwhile, has accelerated efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict and has been pressing for direct talks between the Taliban and Kabul.

Meanwhile, Afghan and Pakistani officials from a group tasked with finding ways to cooperate on diplomatic, military and intelligence-sharing are meeting in Islamabad.

Last month the US and the Taliban held a round of peace talks in Doha, with Khalilzad saying at the time that the two sides had made "slow progress" towards a "framework for ending the Afghan war".

During the talks, the US said it would not withdraw from the US without a ceasefire and security guarantees from the Taliban.

The Taliban said they were not prepared to do this before the US announces a timeline for withdrawal.