Khalilzad to visit India to hold Afghan peace talks

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, will embark on a six-day visit to India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, and the United Kingdom from April 21 to May 11.

The visit is a part of the overall effort to facilitate a political settlement that ends the conflict in Afghanistan.

"In Kabul, Special Representative Khalilzad will consult with the Afghan government and other Afghans to encourage all parties to work towards intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations to determine a final peace settlement," an official release said.

In London, Moscow, Islamabad, and New Delhi, on the other hand, he will work to build international support for the Afghan peace process to help ensure that any peace settlement reached will be sustainable, the statement added.

"In Doha, he will continue to press forward on negotiations with the Taliban to reach a consensus on core national security issues, and urge their participation in inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue," the statement mentioned.

This comes in the wake of Qatar's intra-Afghan initiative being recently delayed due to the Taliban objecting to a new delegation of Afghan government officials selected to attend the talks.

Even though Washington and the Taliban have almost reached a peace deal that has so far excluded the Afghan government, no progress has been achieved on the formula for how power would be shared between the entities following the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.