US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said in a meeting with High Peace Council (HPC) officials on Monday that at recent meetings, the Taliban were mostly interested in talking about being part of a future government and the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.

The best option would be to seal a peace agreement with the Taliban before holding the presidential elections, said HPC deputy chief Attaullah Saleem.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated in its annual 2018 Afghanistan Opium Survey that there has been a sharp drop in poppy cultivation in the country.

Based on the UNODC report, opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has dropped by 29 percent during the current year.