Afghan national reconciliation council holds 1st meeting

Kabul, Dec 5 : Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Saturday inaugurated the first meeting of the country’s High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) after its establishment a few months ago.
“We held this historic meeting today as the peace talks have entered its second phase. Today’s meeting passes a good message to Afghans and to the international community,” Xinhua news agency quoted Ghani as saying to the 48-member meeting of the HCNR televised live on national TV.
The meeting came as the Afghan government delegation and Taliban representatives have made progress in the ongoing peace talks in Doha, capital of Gulf state of Qatar.
The two sides agreed on a draft topic for the agenda and will soon kick off direct peace negotiations, according to local media reports.
“Entering the process into the second round was a success. No one should be seeking their own interest in peace talks,” Ghani said.
Chairman of the HCNR, Abdullah Abdullah told the participants that Afghan people were in dire need of political unity more than ever and need an urgent inclusive ceasefire.