Afghanistan ready for peace, says Abdullah

Afghanistan's Chief Executive Order Abdullah Abdullah on Sunday stressed that the government and the people of the country are ready to participate in the peace process, with an aim to end the nearly two-decade-long civil war.

As per a statement, Abdullah made the comments after he met US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad in Kabul, as part of his multi-nation trip aimed at reaching a global consensus on Afghanistan's peace process, TOLOnews reported.

Abdullah appreciated Khalilzad's efforts for peace and stability and said that the people of Afghanistan is backing him for his efforts.

In the meeting, the special envoy briefed Abdullah on his previous multi-nation visits, where he had discussed Afghanistan's peace process with representatives of different countries.

"The two sides stressed on the basis of inclusive intra-Afghan talks, international and regional consensus on Afghan peace, joint counter-terrorism efforts and continuing efforts for achieving peace in the country," TOLOnews quoted the statement as saying.

On Saturday, Khalilzad had met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, where the need for intra-Afghan negotiations was discussed, apart from the peace process.

In recent times, the US has been leading efforts to bring the Taliban and the Afghan government on the same negotiating table in order to end the 18-year-old war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban had previously met the Afghan government representatives in Russia in February. However, those talks did not include members of Ghani's government.