KABUL (SW) – The top US peace broker Zalmay Khalilzad met senior Afghan officials here on Monday as he resumed the shuttle diplomacy under the new Biden Administration.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, would meet with Afghan leaders, representatives of the Taliban as well as top officials of regional countries who are interested in a sustainable political solution.
This visit coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Doha Agreement between the United States and the Taliban.
Meanwhile, the High Council for National Reconciliation said in a statement that Khalilzad met Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the Council on Monday.
In this meeting, Khalilzad and Abdullah discussed the peace talks in Doha and the review of the Doha Agreement on behalf of the new US government.
The two sides discussed speeding up the peace process, the second round of intra-Afghan talks in Doha and the efforts for reducing violence. During the meeting that took place this morning, Khalilzad was accompanied by top US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller.
Reduction in violence and bringing peace to Afghanistan were one of the goals of the Doha Agreement. But, contrary to the expectations of the people, at the beginning of the talks between the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the representatives of the Taliban in Qatar, the citizens of the country witnessed increased insecurity, assassinations and targeted killings and destabilization in the politics and economy of the country.
Sayed Saadat Mansour Naderi, Minister of State for Peace Affairs, in a meeting in Kabul on Sunday criticized the US-Taliban peace agreement. According to Naderi, a notable reduction in violence would have been a good outcome of the agreement.
The Taliban on the other end vowed they inked the Doha Agreement for the sake of peace and stability in Afghanistan. The group on this occasion vowed to stand by the Agreement terms, and urged the US to honor the deal.
ENDS
