Pakistan’s outgoing army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, left, talks with his successor Gen. Raheel Sharif at a command changing ceremony in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 29, 2013.

Pakistan’s powerful army chief left for Kabul Sunday amid efforts to revive peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa said Sunday that army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif travelled to Afghanistan with “sincerity and optimism” to discuss the Afghan peace process and plans for better border management between the two neighbors.

Sharif’s visit comes two weeks after a regional conference held in Islamabad called for the resumption of the Afghan-Taliban peace negotiations. The conference was attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

The talks between the Taliban and Kabul have been on hold since July, when Afghanistan announced the death of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

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