WASHINGTON — After nearly 16 years of war against the Taliban, the Afghan government is starting to develop a “road map” for breaking a battlefield stalemate that has been prolonged by the insurgents’ ability to use Pakistan as a sanctuary, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

In a report to Congress, the Pentagon said Kabul’s plan is in the early stages of development. It would restructure and realign the Afghan force to “set conditions for offensive operations,” including “large-scale offensive operations in 2019,” the report said.

The new approach has four key elements: increase the Afghan military’s fighting capabilities; improve its development of leaders; generate a more unified command effort; and counter official corruption. It also would double the size of the Afghan “special security” forces, without changing the size of the overall security structure, the report said.

“With renewed interest in planning for the future, Afghanistan has demonstrated its intent to face a myriad of challenges, furthering its commitment to be a viable security partner to the United States,” the report said.