Khalilzad Briefs Ghani Over His Due Regional Revisit

The U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalizad met President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on Saturday evening, the Presidential Palace said in a statement.

According to the statement, Khalilzad briefed the president over his scheduled visit to a number of countries in the region including Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

The diplomat said he will return to Kabul to give feedback to Ghani over his regional visit.

In his turn, President Ghani thanked Khalilzad for his work in the Afghan peace process and that the government welcomes any step being taken in the process of Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace talks.

The U.S. State Department said last week that Khalilzad will visit Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar with an “interagency delegation” from November 8 to 20 to push for peace negotiations with the Afghan Taliban.

This comes as last month, Khalilzad visited Kabul after wrapping up his 10-day trip to regional countries and briefed the government on his visits. He also called on the Afghan government and the Taliban to form official negotiating teams.