Nick Carter, the UK's chief of the general staff (head of the the army), during a secret visit to Kabul a week ago arranged the visit of Pakistan’s Army Chief of Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa to Kabul, sources told TOLOnews on Wednesday.

Although there are no details available about what the Afghan leaders discussed with Bajwa in Kabul, there is a perception that the meeting was intended to create trust between Kabul and Islamabad.

“Pakistan has always tried to increase the Taliban's power, but this does not mean that they (Pakistanis) are lovers of the Taliban, it means that Pakistan does it to secure its interests, therefore, they want the Taliban to have a bigger role,” said Amanullah Hotaki, a political commentator in Kabul.

“The parliament’s external affairs commission was assigned to investigate the trip of Pakistani army chief to Afghanistan and his meeting with the president of the country,” said Mir Rahman Rahmani, speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of parliament.

“There is consensus at the regional and international level about peace in Afghanistan,” said Jalaluddin Shinwari, the former attorney general during the Taliban regime.

According to the sources, there is a possibility that the intra-Afghan talks will be started in Doha next week.

As part of his three-nation trip, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on Wednesday where he met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and exchanged views on the Afghan peace process.

“In this meeting, discussions were held on the peace process, practical steps before the start of the direct talks, the terms of the extension of reduction in violence and the unofficial ceasefire,” tweeted Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for Afghan president Ashraf Ghani.

Khalilzad also traveled to Doha and Pakistan.