DOHA: On Tuesday, Afghan government delegates returned to Doha for a second round of talks with the Taliban after Kabul accused the insurgents of stalling the talks.
So far, months of negotiations between the two parties have yielded nothing, although both sides decided that what to explore in the next round was seen as a breakthrough.
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A spokeswoman for a delegation of Afghan government negotiators who flew from Kabul to Doha said, “We are here in Doha and arrived two hours ago.”
When the negotiations will resume was uncertain.
Afghan government leaders would press for a lasting truce to safeguard current governance structures that have been in force since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban by a US-led intervention after the 11 September attacks.
It’s unclear when the negotiations will resume
But on Monday, Afghanistan’s spy chief Ahmad Zia Siraj told the parliament that “we believe the Taliban are planning to drag the talks (out) until the May withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.”
He said, “We do not see the Taliban having any intention or will for peace.”
Under the historic agreement signed in February 2020 between the Taliban and Washington, the US vowed to take all international forces out of Afghanistan by May 2021.
Zalmay Khalilzad, US Special Envoy for Afghanistan, called for an accelerated speed of talks as Washington is calling for further momentum in the negotiations as the curtain falls on the presidency of President Donald Trump.
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“Both sides must demonstrate that they act in the best interests of the Afghan people by making real compromises and, as soon as possible, negotiating a political settlement agreement,” he said on Twitter.
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