Taliban, Afghan delegates in Iran agree on need of political solution to end war

The Taliban delegation and the Afghan government agreed during the meeting in Iran that the decades-long war in Afghanistan must end and that "a peaceful solution should be sought," between the two sides.

"Both sides agreed on the dangers of continuing the war and the damage it would do to the health of the country, agreeing that war is not the solution to the Afghan problem and that all efforts to reach a political and peaceful solution should be justified," the delegations said in a joint statement.

According to the statement, both sides decided to discuss issues that need further consultation and clarity, such as establishing a mechanism for the transition from war to permanent peace, the agreed Islamic system and how to achieve it during the next meeting.

During the negotiations in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif affirmed Tehran's readiness to provide full assistance to inter-Afghan reconciliation,

US President Joe Biden in April had announced the withdrawal of American troops will leave Afghanistan by September 11. Since the start of the drawdown from May, the Taliban escalated their attacks in various areas and dozens of districts fell to the group.

As the US has completed over "90 per cent" of withdrawal, US State Department on Wednesday urged its neighbours to play a constructive role in Afghan peace talks "in order for there to be a just and durable peace" in the country.

"What Iran is trying to do or is in the process of doing by hosting this meeting may well be constructive. I think the jury is still out. This is obviously not something we have discussed with the Iranians, other than by public--by making the point very publicly that Afghanistan's neighbours need to be responsible stakeholders," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.

( With inputs from ANI )