KABUL: The talks between Taliban and US scheduled in Qatar have beenpostponed due to some issues, sources said on Tuesday (January 08).
Sources have revealed that Afghan Taliban have reportedly rejected therequest made by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia over holding direct talks withthe Afghan government.
The second round of talks between the representatives of US and Talibanwere set to be held today (09 January) and the tomorrow (10 Janu-ary) inDoha, capital of Qatar.
Sources close to Taliban told Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) that theirrepresentatives could not reach to Qatar in time. Due to this reason, thesources said the second round of negotiations with the US representativeshave been postponed till an indefinite period of time.
“When all members of Taliban’s negotiation team reach Qatar, another datewould be set for talks. No other reason exists for delay in thenegotiations,” the sources said. Representative of Taliban’s Qatar officeand some other key members of this organization are part of the negotiationteam, the sources said. Currently, they are out of Qatar. Taliban have notsaid anything formally in this regard so far.
According to media reports, the representatives of US and Taliban wouldattend the second round of talks in Qatar. The representatives of Pakistan,United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other sides involved in the Afghanpeace issue have not been invited to attend the talks. In the second roundof talks, the sources said Taliban and US representatives would discussvarious key issues including complete withdrawal of foreign forces fromAfghanistan, end to occupation, release of prisoners and removal of Talibanleaders from sanctions list.
The Taliban have denied holding direct talks with the officials of Afghangovernment in the second round of negotiations. Due to this reason, theofficials of Afghan government have not been invited to attend the talks,the sources said.
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However, Afghan officials stress on holding direct talks with Talibanrepresentatives. According to Afghan officials, the peace talks without theleadership and ownership of Afghans would not yield any outcomes.
Sources close to Taliban recently told AIP that the second round of talksbetween the US and Taliban representatives would be held in Doha, capitalof Qatar on the 9th and 10th of January. However, the US and Taliban havenot said anything formally about this schedule so far. In the first roundof talks held in Abu Dhabi, it was said that the second phase ofnegotiations would be held in Saudi Arabia. However, the venue of talks waschanged to Qatar due to refusal of Taliban to hold negotiations in SaudiArabia. According to sources, the government of Saudi Arabia wanted to holddirect talks between the representatives of Taliban and Afghan government.However, the Taliban refused holding talks with the representatives ofAfghan government. Due to this reason, the government of Saudi Arabiaopposed the negotiations.
The Taliban representatives did not meet the officials of Afghan governmentduring the first round of talks in Abu Dhabi. The US and other countriesbelieve that Taliban should enter into intra-Afghan peace dialogue with thegovernment of Afghanistan for the restoration of peace to the country.
The US officials have said that the recent efforts for peace are aimed atpaving way for direct talks between the representatives of Taliban andAfghan government. According to the US, it could not represent Afghanpeople in the talks.
