President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani met with the former Mujahideen leader Abdul Rab Rasool as part of the ongoing consultative meetings to discuss peace efforts.

The Office of the President, ARG Palace, in a statement said the meeting took place on Friday morning and was also attended by Senate Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar.

The statement further added that the meeting focused on activities of the Afghan High Peace Council, formation of negotiators delegation considering the new situation, consultative board for peace process which would be established in close consultation with the political parties, civil society organizations, and representatives of all 34 provinces, and establishment of various committees for the launch of peace negotiations.

President Ghani thanked Sayaf and Muslimyar for participating in the meeting and offering their views and emphasized that the government’s foundation is based on a general consensus of the Afghan people and any step regarding peace process would be taken after thorough consultations.

He also added that consultations are underway with the representatives of different segments of the nation and the results would be shared at the end of the consultations.

This comes as the Afghan government and the close allies of Afghanistan have stepped up efforts to start negotiations with the Taliban to end the ongoing violence through reconciliation process.