KABUL (SW) – Talks between Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, and Taliban representatives in Doha, the capital of Qatar, have officially resumed.
The Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said in a social media post that in this round of talks, Anas Haqqani, the second in-command of the Haqqani network, is also taking part. The spokesman for the Taliban's political bureau in Qatar tweeted that talks with U.S. envoys begun from where they were left and would continue on Sunday as well.
The U.S. sources have confirmed that the US-Taliban peace talks have resumed in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
According to sources, reducing the violence, declaring a ceasefire and launching intra-Afghan talks are the main goals of these talks.
A former Taliban member, Syed Akbar Agha, has said the talks are likely to come to an agreement on the arrangement already in place. He said intra-Afghan talks would begin after the U.S.-Taliban peace deal was signed.
But Najia Anwari, the chief of strategic affairs at the State Ministry for Peace Affairs, said the U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed in his meeting with President Ashraf Ghani that the previous agreement with the Taliban is cancelled.
With the resumption of talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission has expressed concerns that the issues discussed in these talks are not shared with it.
Shahrzad Akbar, head of the AIHRC, said the process could be termed "peace talks" after the ceasefire and the start of the intra-Afghan dialogue process.
ENDS
