Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
AT News Report
KABUL: Chief Executive, Abdullah Abdullah emphasizes on an inclusive delegation from the government to hold talks with Taliban.
Abdullah said in an interview with the CNN that the US envoy for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad paved the ground for an intra-Afghan dialogue.
Khalilzad started a series of visits to some countries involved in Afghan issues in Europe and Asia, reportedly making effort to resume negotiations with Taliban that President Trump called off last month.
On Friday, Khalilzad participated in a meeting with diplomats from Russia, China and Pakistan in Moscow to discuss the next steps of peace efforts in Afghanistan.
A third intra-Afghan dialogue is set to be hosted by Chinese government next week, where Taliban negotiators are expected to meet Afghan prominent from Kabul, after a February meeting in Moscow and another one held in July in Doha, the capital of the Middle Eastern state of Qatar, where the militants maintain a political office.
The government did not participate in the past two meetings and has not yet stated if to send a team to Beijing.
Taliban have so far rejected requests to hold talks with the government of President Ashraf Ghani, calling it a US puppet.
Abdullah, who expressed support for peace process in the past, told the CNN that the Afghan delegation should be acceptable for all parties of Afghan society.
He said that Khalilzad’s fresh round of visits indicate that an intra-Afghan dialogue would begin soon.
“There was a pause in the peace negotiations. Now, the US envoy is paying visits to some regional states to pave the ground for intra-Afghan talks. Though the Taliban have so far rejected meetings with the government, but this time, an inclusive delegation should be made for the intra-Afghan talks,” Abdullah said.
He said that the fourth presidential election was different from the past ones, and observers were monitoring the process and it would have a transparent result.
Abdullah said that Afghan forces were still fighting against the Daesh and al-Qaeda terrorist groups and would continue battle to uproot them.
