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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (right) and US Special Envoy for Peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad (left) meet in Kabul, Afghanistan on November 10, 2018. Presidential Palace / Brochure via REUTERS
KABUL (Reuters) – The US special envoy to Afghanistan is hoping to implement a peace deal with Taliban insurgents by April 2019, local media reported on Sunday.
Zalmay Khalilzad, in Kabul, who will lead the talks between the United States, the Taliban and the Afghan government, told reporters that he hoped "that a peace agreement will be reached by 20 April of next year ".
Afghanistan plans to hold a presidential election on April 20, 2019.
The Afghan-born American diplomat said he remained "optimistic with caution" about the peace talks.
Khalilzad, chosen by the administration of US President Donald Trump to speak directly with the Taliban, met with the leaders of the radical Islamist group in Qatar last month to find ways to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.
On Sunday, Khalilzad said the final state of negotiations would be "peace and a successful Afghanistan, an Afghanistan that poses no threat to itself or to the international community".
The Taliban were not immediately available for comment.
The insurgents, fighting to expel foreign forces and defeating the Western-backed Afghan government, have made demands to Khalilzad including a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops and the release of the Taliban from the prisons.
Rupam Jain report, Abdul Qadir Sediqi, edited by Himani Sarkar; Edited by Janet Lawrence
