KABUL: The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has conferred on the Afghan peace process and the way forward with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Great meeting with Ambassador Khalilzad to discuss the way forward in Afghanistan: continuing to protect the US against the threat of terrorism, achieving a just and durable political settlement there, and cementing a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire,” Blinken said in a tweet on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Khalilzad underlined that sides addressed issues focusing on the conditional strategy, bringing peace to Afghanistan, securing a stable future for its citizens, and preventing anybody from using Afghanistan’s land to threaten the United States and its allies.

Khalilzad, who had negotiated an agreement with the Taliban following 18 months of talks, has remained in at his post under the newly-elected Biden’s administration.

This comes as no meeting has been held in Doha for the past 19 days between the Afghan Republic and the Taliban negotiators. Meanwhile, reports are arising that the Doha deal might be broken as the foreign forces might stay beyond the May deadline, which was set by the agreement.