Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday highlighted the part Pakistan is playing in the negotiations between the United States and the Afghan Taliban — a round of which were held in the UAE a day earlier.

The prime minister, in a tweet from his official Twitter account, reiterated that his government will do all they can to "further the peace process" and end "almost three decades of suffering of the brave Afghan people".

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, meanwhile, appreciated "international recognition of Pakistan’s commitment and efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan", adding that the country "has and always will work towards establishing peace in Afghanistan and building a more connected, prosperous neighbourhood".

The prime and the foreign ministers' remarks come a day after United States diplomats and Afghan Taliban representatives met in the United Arab Emirates for the first round of talks facilitated by Pakistan on finding a negotiated settlement of the war in Afghanistan.

The meeting in Abu Dhabi was also attended by officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

There were no statements from the participating parties at the end of the daylong meeting, although Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal had officially announced the start of the talks through a tweet.

“Talks are being held in UAE,” Dr Faisal tweeted as the meeting in the UAE got under way. He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and expressed the hope that the engagement that began in the UAE would “end bloodshed in Afghanistan and bring peace to the region”.

It was the third meeting between the Taliban and US officials since the appointment of Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad as US special envoy for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Their meeting last month had continued for three days.

However, it was the first meeting sponsored by Islamabad and also the first outside Doha which hosts Taliban’s political office and was the venue of the earlier two rounds. It is believed that the latest meeting was convened outside Qatar to underscore Pakistan’s role in arranging it and at the same time allowing participation of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, both of whom had last year cut diplomatic ties with Doha.

Ambassador Khalilzad led the US side, whereas Taliban were represented at the talks by their ‘political negotiators’ from Qatar office.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had confirmed in a statement sent to VoA the participation of insurgents’ political negotiators in the meeting with American officials.

"Talks revolved around withdrawal of occupation forces from Afghanistan, ending the oppression being carried out by the United States and her allies," Mujahid said in a statement today, adding that "views were exchanged with the said countries about peace and reconstruction of Afghanistan.

"Moreover, preliminary talks were held with the said countries along with the State Department’s Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad at the end of the day.

"Meetings in this negotiations process shall continue today."

Pakistan had arranged the meeting after receiving a request from US President Donald Trump for help in the peace process a fortnight ago. Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the Pakistan-backed meeting in the UAE during his visit to Peshawar last Friday.

The Afghan government was not represented at Monday’s meeting because Taliban have stood firmly on not talking to the Afghan government, whom they call the puppet regime, and insisted on talking directly to the US.

The Afghan government, however, held consultations with the US, Saudi Arabia and the UAE a day before the talks with Taliban. Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib, who took part in the quadrilateral meeting on Sunday, tweeted on Monday that “President Ashraf Ghani’s roadmap for peace presented at Geneva and direct engagement of Afghan government with Taliban for intra-Afghan dialogue” were discussed.

Kabul, despite not getting a seat at the talks, is seeing the process positively. The Washington Post quoted Shah Hussain Murtazawi, a spokesman for President Ghani, as having said that the US-Taliban meeting was being coordinated with the Afghan government. “The Afghan government supports any effort and action that paves the way for an Afghan-led peace process,” he said.