KABUL – Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that while there was”progress” at the meetings, reports of an agreement on a ceasefire andtalks with Kabul “are not true.”
“Since issues are of critical nature and need comprehensive discussions,therefore it was decided that talks about unresolved matters will resume insimilar future meetings,” he said in a statement.
But a senior Taliban commander sounded optimistic after the talks with theAfghan-born Khalilzad, who played key diplomatic roles in former presidentGeorge W. Bush´s administration.
“The US has accepted many of our demands and both sides are very muchagreed on major points, but some points are still under discussion,” theTaliban commander told AFP on condition of anonymity by phone from Pakistan.
“We are moving forward and a lot of progress has been made so far.
“Efforts are underway to find some middle ground to solve the remainingdisputed issues. The Afghan government is one of them,” he added.
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Qatar´s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani alsohailed the dialogue, tweeting: “This progress marks a significant step inthe history of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.”
The Taliban in the past have refused to deal with the internationallyrecognised government of President Ashraf Ghani.
Abdullah Abdullah, the de facto prime minister of Afghanistan, recentlyvoiced frustration that the Taliban was excluding the Kabul government,warning that a peace process “cannot take place by proxy. – APP/AFP
