US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad was in Kabul on Wednesday, after holding talks with the Taliban and Pakistan officials.
Khalilzad renewed talks with the Taliban in Qatar earlier this month, after three-month suspension by President Donald Trump. He then travelled to Islamabad to brief Pakistani officials.
On Friday, Khalilzad said that he was taking a “brief pause” from talks with the militant group after it launched a suicide a suicide attack on a US base outside Kabul killing two civilians.
During Kabul visit, Khalilzad met with President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday morning, the president’s spokesman Sediq Sediqisaid.
He said that the talks focused on ceasefire and Taliban safe havens outside Afghanistan and thatthe president expressed concerns over Taliban’s continuation of violence.
The president emphasized that the Afghan government and people absolutely want lasting peace and have no hesitation in this regard. The sides expressed hope that ceasefire should happen first to ensure peace in Afghanistan.
