Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk
KABUL: US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is appearing before
the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday for a closed hearing on
the Afghan reconciliation process, said US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
It is expected that Khalilzad will brief the committee on his talks with Abdul
Ghani Baradar Taliban’s political deputy and his team as well as negotiations
with the Taliban in Qatar.
In the past several months, Khalilzad held sixth round of talks with Taliban and made several foreign trips, meeting with regional and global leaders to find a political settlement to the Afghan war.
In the sixth round of the talks in Doha last month, Khalilzad said the made
steady but slow progress on aspects of the framework for ending the Afghan war.
“We are getting into the ‘nitty gritty.’ The devil is always in the details,”
he tweeted.
However, the current pace of talks isn’t sufficient when so much conflict rages and innocent people die. “We need more and faster progress. Our proposal for all sides to reduce violence also remains on the table,” he added.
Furthermore, he said a peace process that delivers a political settlement is the priority because afghans want peace above all.
At the same time, he said that wanting peace does not preclude Afghans from demanding preparations for a credible presidential election. “Election planning must go forward as we pursue the peace Afghans deserve.”
