KABUL (SW): Taliban representatives are attending a conference being held in Doha on Saturday by Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, a Nobel peace prize-winning group focused on resolving conflicts.
Waheed Mujda, an analyst told Salam Watandar that Sheer Mohammad Abbas, head of Taliban’s Qatar office and few more Taliban representatives are taking part in it. He added that representatives of High Council for Peace (HCP), former trade minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi and a number of notable Afghans from Europe and North America are also attending the session.
It is not part of the official peace process which recently restarted. The official initiative involving Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States is due to hold its third meeting in Islamabad on Feb 6.
Mujda noted this conference would try to address issues hindering the peace process in Afghanistan.
A day earlier, the Taliban announced that their representatives would attend the conference.
“The Islamic Emirate seeks to take healthy advantage of such opportunities and conferences to relay the legal demands of our nation and our just policy to the world directly”, the Taliban said.
Habibullah Fauzi, Deputy Head of International Affairs at the HCP affirmed that this organization would have its representation in the conference. He however, declined to specify the name and offices of those representing HCP at the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs in Qatar, Doha. Fauzi recalled that some members of the HCP had taken part in personal capacity in similar conferences in the past.
He expressed hope that the conference would prove handy in ensuring peace in Afghanistan.
ENDS
