Islamabad: Taliban officials said that a delegation of its senior members has returned to Qatar on Saturday, opening the way for talks with the Afghan government once again. Negotiations are expected in this Gulf country. The officials gave this information on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to talk to the media. This conversation is another important part of the peace agreement between the US and the Taliban in Doha in February this year.
The US has put pressure on Afghans on both sides to initiate settlement negotiations to decide what the future of Afghanistan will be like after a long conflict, how to protect the rights of women and minorities, and thousands of armed Taliban and government-backed militias. How disarmament will happen and how they can be reintegrated. US security adviser Robert O’Brien had a lengthy conversation with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani over the phone last week.
US officials also pressured neighboring Pakistan to prepare the Taliban for talks. The Afghan government is unable to agree on the swapping of 5,000 prisoners held by Taliban and 1000 prisoners captured by the Taliban.
Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar came to Pakistan in late August, the head of the Taliban’s political office and the chief negotiator with the US in February. His meeting with the Pakistani authorities was not disclosed much but it is believed that he was pressurized to start inter-Afghanistan talks.
