US To Continue Pursuing Inclusive Political Process In Afghanistan - State Department

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2019) The United States will continue to pursue an inclusive political process in Afghanistan amid the recent halt in the peace negotiations with the Taliban, US Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

"We will work on a path-forward in Afghanistan that continues to be inclusive of the Afghan government, of women, of civil society, of all elements in Afghanistan," the statement said on Thursday. "That was always our goal."

On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that the peace talks were "dead" after the Taliban claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in Kabul that killed a US serviceman.

Ortagus said Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would continue to discuss the way forward in Afghanistan, but pointed out that the course of US efforts to reach a settlement would diverge from the original plan.

"We certainly have updates as it relates to new policies that the President wants to pursue," Ortagus said.

On September 2, an explosion rocked Kabul - just hours after US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad� shared with the Afghan leadership the details of a peace deal drafted during peace talks in Doha, Qatar - in which 16 people were killed and 119 wounded.

Three days later, three explosions rocked Kabul, killing dozens of people, including a US soldier. The Taliban again claimed the responsibility for the attacks.

On Saturday, Trump said that he canceled plans to hold secret Camp David talks with the Taliban and Afghan government leaders on Sunday.