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Afghan president calls upon Taliban to join peace process

KABUL, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Thursday called upon Taliban militants to give up fighting and initiate peace talks to boost the national reconciliation in the war-battered country.

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Achieving peace in Afghanistan through talks requires more time than first expected

Peace talks between the Afghan government and the radical Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan party led by Gulbudin Hekmatyar have reportedly broken down after three months following the latter insisted on new impossible-to-meet demands such as foreign forces pulling out of the aid-dependent country.