The Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Saturday said maintaining security at voter registration centers and polling stations was a priority for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). 

Interior minister Wais Ahmad Barmak said a number of districts in the country are insecure but that they have plans to maintain security in these areas. 

Addressing lawmakers on Saturday, a senior member of the High Peace Council (HPC) said the Taliban is “somehow ready for talks” and that the institution is “cautiously” optimistic.

“Inner pressure, as well as internal, regional and foreign support will finally push the Taliban to say yes to intra-Afghan talks,” the head of the HPC secretariat Akram Khpulwak told MPs in the Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House of Parliament, on Saturday.