There have been conflicting reports about the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad’s meetings with President Ashraf Ghani and former president Hamid Karzai. Khalilzad is in Kabul to hold talks with leaders and politicians here on the peace process.

Karzai’s office said in a statement that the US representative “expressed his optimism about the developments and progress” in the peace process, and said he hoped an agreement will be reached with the Taliban.

The minister of public health, Ferozuddin Feroz, on Sunday said the Afghan government is ready to bring back 43 Afghan citizens scattered in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus, a deadly virus that so far has killed over 300 people.

But the minister said a lockdown in Wuhan, and severe quarantine in the Chinese city, has impeded their efforts in this respect.