Afghanistan is planning to hold a grand council of tribal elders and political leaders next month to discuss how to end the Taliban insurgency, a presidential peace envoy said, as Taliban officials and US diplomats prepared to resume talks in Qatar on Monday.

Afghanistan to hold grand council of tribal elders, political leaders to discuss peace talks

Afghan surgeon Hedayatullah Hedayat has treated thousands of civilians wounded in conflict over the past 15 years -- victims of attacks from shootings to bomb blast -- but he never gets used to the horrors of war.

'It's a trauma': Afghan doctors on the frontline of war

The US and the Taliban are to meet in Qatar for fresh talks Monday seeking an end to 17 years of grinding conflict in Afghanistan, with the stakes ratcheting higher as the spring fighting season approaches.

Fear and hoping: Expectations surge ahead of new US-Taliban talks

Afghan Taliban leaders said on Thursday that their new political chief will not be attending peace talks with US envoys due to take place in Qatar next week. US officials had been keen to negotiate with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, hoping the Taliban's co-founder and military veteran would add momentum and have the clout to discuss tough issues surrounding the end of America's longest war.

New Taliban political chief to miss upcoming Afghan peace talks with US envoys in Qatar

The Taliban was created by assassinated former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 1993. A quarter-century later, the terrorist group threatens to disrupt the fragile balance of power in Afghanistan.

India’s new Afghan challenge

Afghan peace talks: US agrees to withdraw troops

Gravitas: Intra-Afghan peace talks in Moscow

Afghans harboured tentative hopes Sunday that talks between the US and Taliban leaders could end decades of conflict, despite fears an American withdrawal might unleash even more violence.

Afghans hope for peace but fear bloodshed as US, Taliban talk

The Taliban said it met with US officials in Qatar on Monday, in the latest round of talks between the insurgents and Washington aimed at bringing an end to the 17-year war.

Taliban announces meeting with US officials in Qatar

Leading US Senator Lindsey Graham vowed Sunday to urge President Donald Trump to meet Imran Khan to boost Washington's Afghanistan peace efforts, calling the Pakistani prime minister an "agent of change".

US Senator Lindsey Graham urges meeting between Trump and Pak PM Imran Khan

Pakistan will host the next round of talks between the US and Afghan Taliban in Islamabad, it was decided on Friday during a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, according to a media report.

Pakistan to host next round of peace talks between US and Afghan Taliban in Islamabad: Report

The remarks come after Iran confirmed Monday that the Taliban had visited Tehran for the second round of talks in just a few days that are aimed at ending the 17-year conflict.

Afghan Taliban says 'post-occupation situation' discussed with Iran

Iran said Monday that the Afghan Taliban have visited Tehran for a second round of peace talks in just a few days aimed at bringing an end to 17 years of conflict.

Iran says Afghan Taliban were in Tehran for peace talks

The US special envoy for Afghan peace talks arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to meet government leaders, following his discussions with Taliban representatives in Abu Dhabi this week.

US envoy visits Kabul after talks with Taliban on Afghan peace

The death last week of the Taliban's senior leader in southern Afghanistan in a US air strike highlights a surge in operations amid pressure to coax the increasingly confident insurgents to accept talks to end the 17-year war.

Afghan peace push backed by surge in air strikes, operations

US President Donald Trump has sought Pakistan's help with Afghan peace talks in a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, the South Asian nation's information minister, Fawad Chaudhry, said on Monday.

Trump seeking Pak help for Afghan peace talks: Information minister Chaudhry

The Taliban has said that the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan is the only way for maintaining peace and security in the region. Quoting sources, Tolo News reported that the statement was passed by the Taliban representatives who attended the Moscow Summit on Afghanistan's peace, on Friday, along with the envoys from 11 different countries including the United States.

Removing foreign powers is the only way to restore peace: Taliban

A Taliban attack on top US and Afghan security chiefs inside a highly secure compound in Afghanistan is a major coup for the insurgents that threatens to torpedo peace talks and destabilise the country's south, analysts say.

Afghan election: Brazen Taliban attack threatens peace talks, stability

The United States has in the past also expressed hope of 'peeling off' elements of the Taliban

Mattis arrives in Kabul, says US picking up Taliban interest in Afghan peace talks

The comments come a month after the Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack in which an ambulance packed with explosives blew up in Kabul

Taliban pour cold water on invitation to Afghan peace talks

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