US Welcomes India's Efforts for Peace in Afghanistan: Khalilzad

Washington [US], April 19 (ANI): The United States welcomed India's engagement in regional and international efforts for lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan, said US special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad during talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.Khalilzad spoke to Jaishankar on Friday to discuss the urgency of resolving the internal political crisis and the importance of Afghan leaders forming an inclusive government. Taking to Twitter, Khalilzad said: "I reached out to Indian FM Jaishankar yesterday to discuss the latest on the Afghan peace process. We talked about the urgency of resolving the internal political crisis and the importance of Afghan leaders forming an inclusive government". "I told the Minister that the US welcomes Indian engagement in regional and international efforts for lasting peace in Afghanistan. We are committed to a sustained engagement with India on this objective," he added. India has always extended its support for Afghans in their pursuit of sustainable peace, security and development.The two officials also discussed the need for both the Afghan government and the Taliban to accelerate prisoner releases.In the last few weeks, the Afghanistan government and Taliban have exchanged prisoners. On April 12, the Taliban also freed 20 prisoners. The Afghan government has so far freed 661 militants.In line with the US-Taliban peace deal, 5,000 prisoners of the movement should be released by the Afghan government, while 1,000 prisoners should be released by the group for the intra-Afghan negotiations to start. "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. We also spent some time covering the immediate and longer-term impact of the Coronavirus," the envoy said.On February 29, the US signed a peace deal with the Taliban in Doha after months of negotiations, aimed at ending the 18-year long war in Afghanistan and pave the way for Washington to withdraw all its troops from the country within 14 months. (ANI)

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