More than 3,200 delegates opened Afghanistan's grand council Monday as leaders throughout the country hope to find some consensus on peace negotiations with the Taliban.
The four-day summit, called the Grand Consultative Jirga on Peace, faced a boycott by some Afghan political parties, but Umer Daudzai, a special envoy for President Ashraf Ghani, said every district was represented. The Taliban had called on Afghans to boycott the summit as well.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai had asked Ghani to delay the event over fears it could slow negotiations. The Taliban, the Afghan government and U.S. negotiators have been locked in complex discussions for months over a possible withdrawal of U.S. forces, which have been in the Middle Eastern nation since late 2001.