Afghan peace talks in Turkey: Haqqani network present but Afghan Taliban main faction absent in talks: Report
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*KABUL - Afghan government representatives have held unofficial talks with five Taliban members in Turkey on Sunday.*
Humayun Jarir and Abbas Basir are representing Afghan government in the meeting.
Humayun Jarir, a representative of Afghan government in the talks, told TOLOnews that the talks are unofficial and that they will discuss mechanisms to pave the ground for official talks between the two sides.
He said the Taliban members are representing Haqqani network and other factions of the Taliban.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, has rejected the meeting, claiming that the participants are not representing the group.
The first and second rounds of government-Taliban negotiations were held in Turkey last year.
This comes after the High Peace Council Chairman Mohammad Karim Khalili at a ceremony in Kabul last year in December said the council is ready to start peace talks with the Taliban without any pre-condition.
He said the Taliban can open their office, for the peace talks, in any part of the world and even in Kabul.
Khalili said the Indonesian vice president and a group of that country’s religious scholars will visit Kabul in the near future and are expected to condemn the ongoing war as illegitimate.
He said the HPC is optimistic that Indonesia will share its experience for peace with Afghanistan as the country itself has faced major ups and downs in search for peace.
