Afghans call for ceasefire as huge peace summit wraps up

Afghan officials called for a ceasefire as a huge peace summit wound down in Kabul yesterday after thousands of delegates spent days discussing possible conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban. This week's "loya jirga", or grand assembly, saw more than 3,000 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives from across the country gather in Kabul under tight security to discuss the possibility of peace.

While the full results of the summit may not be announced until Friday, several committee leaders said they wanted to see an immediate



pause in violence, which has continued apace across Afghanistan even with various peace summits taking place.

The Taliban, who were not at the talks, are meeting this week separately in Doha with US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in a bid to make a deal with Washington that could see the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.

The loya jirga is a centuries-old tradition in Afghanistan that has been convened at times of national crisis or to settle big issues.