US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad held talks by phone with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Friday.
During the call, the sides discussed the Afghan peace process, the political crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.
“We talked about the urgency of resolving the internal political crisis and the importance of Afghan leaders forming an inclusive government,” Khalilzad said on Twitter.
The Afghan government has released 361 Taliban prisoners and the group has freed 60 people it held as part of the US-Taliban deal which includes the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 government prisoners.
The deal stipulated their release before March 10 when intra-Afghan talks were scheduled to begin.
“We also discussed the need for both the Afghan government and the Taliban to accelerate prisoner releases, support a prompt reduction in violence, and start intra-Afghan negotiations,” Khalilzad said.
He said they also discussed the immediate and longer-term impact of the coronavirus.
“I told the Minister that the US welcomes Indian engagement in regional and international efforts for a lasting peace in Afghanistan. We are committed to a sustained engagement with India on this objective,” Khalilzad said.
