Taliban willing to meet Afghan government representatives in Qatar

A senior Qatari anti-terrorism official, who is the main character behind his country’s involvement in the Afghan talks, informed President Ashraf Ghani about Taliban’s willingness during his recent visit to Kabul, Daily Times reported citing a diplomatic source.
Taliban and Afghan officials have both said that the upcoming event in Doha is not a negotiating meeting, but a conference to “exchange views.”
Omar Daudzai, Afghan president’s adviser and head of High Peace Council secretariat, said that negotiations could be held after the meeting in other countries.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also said that any individual who is part of the Kabul administration and is listed as a participant will only participate in a personal capacity and share personal views.
Taliban have held multiple rounds of peace talks with the US. The group met with politicians outside the Afghan government in Moscow in February.
On Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani hosted political leaders to discuss composition of negotiating delegation and agenda of the upcoming meeting in Doha.
Meanwhile, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad after meeting with President Ghani on Sunday said: “We have momentum now with Afghans working together across party and society.”
“Men and women, young and not-so-young, all will join in intra-Afghan dialogue in Doha and eventual negotiations. Look forward to meeting representatives soon,” Khalilzad said on Twitter.
During his meetings in Kabul, Khalilzad underscored the imperative of “reducing violence across Afghanistan in the coming weeks and explored ways to build broader regional support for the current effort to realize the Afghan people’s yearning for peace”, US Embassy in Kabul said in a statement.