The fate of the Afghan peace process has been hanging in the balance as the Taliban are reluctant to hold direct peace talks with the Afghan government. Afghanistan has been passing through a critical time as there does not seem to be a foreseeable end to the ongoing violence. In a bid to bring peace to war-torn Afghanistan, top diplomats from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on May 18 to discuss ways on how to start peace talks in Afghanistan. The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) is going to meet for the first time since the Taliban have refused to take part in direct talks with the Afghan government. In the previous meeting held in February, the QCG had invited the insurgents to join the process, but it has not received positive response from the Taliban. The upcoming meeting entails great importance as Afghanistan is now pushing for action against the Taliban as they are unwilling to come to the negotiation table, and mounted their annual Spring Offensive. In this scenario, hopes for peace in Afghanistan have diminished and no immediate solution is available. The Afghan government has become wary of non-cooperative attitude of the Taliban who are not ready to quit violence. This is the reason that Kabul has asked the QCG to pronounce the Taliban as “irreconcilable” because they have publicly rejected the talks. The Afghan government wants the QCG to opt for action against the Taliban. However, Pakistan still insists on political negotiations instead of prolonging the war that has already left catastrophic effects on the Afghan nation. Pakistan has been impressing upon the US and Afghan sides that the reconciliation process should be given a fair chance and more time. However, the situation is getting grimmer day by day. Nobody knows what will be the outcome of this uncertainty. What should be the roadmap to peace? It is perceived that that the roadmap is precisely about the steps that the QCG member countries needed to take in their respective relevant domains — during peace talks if they begin, and if the Taliban refuse to join talks. All stakeholders need to adopt a united stance and make joint efforts to deal with the threat of the Taliban that surely will not remain limited to Afghanistan. Pakistan needs to use its influence to bring those Taliban to the negotiating table who are willing to lay their arms, while the US and China in cooperation with other countries need to launch military offensive against the irreconcilable Taliban. Those militants who are ready to quit violence must be engaged in talks while those who are not ready to lay down their arms should be eliminated. Peace is in the interests of all stakeholder countries, the region and the world.*