The meeting between Afghan politicians and the Taliban which was initially scheduled for April 14 was postponed to April 19 as per the decision of the newly-established Reconciliation Leadership Council – which is chaired by President Ashraf Ghani, the Presidential Palace confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.

The council with an initial 37 members, including Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, former President Hamid Karzai, former Jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf and other prominent Afghan politicians, held its first meeting on Saturday, April 6. Their second meeting was held on Wednesday to follow-up the decisions made in their first meeting.

In a testimony before the US Senate’s Appropriations Committee, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured that the Afghan government will be a meaningful participant in any peace deal.

When asked about the US Senate Chairman Lindsey Graham about his assurance the Afghan government will be a meaningful participant in any peace deal, Pompeo assured that the Afghan government will be “more than that and that they (the Afghan government) will be at the center”. “It will be Afghan-led,” he said.