Taliban representatives, Afghan leaders resume peace talks in Doha

Afghan government officials and representatives of Taliban on Monday resumed dialogues on the second day of the Inter Afghan summit being held in Qatar's capital city of Doha.

Jointly Orgsed by Qatar and Germany, the event is seen as an icebreaker that could eventually lead to a peace settlement in the country engulfed in war for the past 18 years, reported Radio Pakistan.

Expressing satisfaction over the summit, United States Secretary of States Michael Pompeo on Sunday praised the Afghan government as well as "civil society, women, and Taliban representatives" for coming together to hold dialogues.

"The Intra Afghan Conference for Peace in #Doha has been a long time coming. It's great to see senior government, civil society, women, and Taliban representatives at one table together," Pompeo wrote on Twitter.

"All Americans should be glad to see Afghans sitting with Afghans to begin the tough task of ending their country's conflict and building a shared future together. @US4AfghanPeace #AfghanPeaceProcess," he went on to say.

While the first day of dialogues were described as positive by both the parties, they were overshadowed by a blast carried out by the Taliban in the Ghazni province that claimed that lives of at least eight people and left 50 others injured.

( With inputs from ANI )