Afghanistan says ready for dialogue with Taliban

A top Afghan official appointed to lead the much-awaited peace talks with the Taliban yesterday said his team was ready to start dialogue with the insurgents "at any moment". Abdullah Abdullah said an ongoing lull in violence triggered by a surprise ceasefire offered by the insurgents had set the tone for launching discussions. Peace talks between the government and Taliban were scheduled to begin before March 10. US President Donald Trump's administration has made it a priority to end America's longest war, and US officials have pushed the Taliban and government leaders to hold peace talks in a bid to pull out foreign forces.

Source: AFP