KABUL – Afghan Taliban reject a ‘secret meeting’ with the AfghanistanGovernment delegation from the Office of Afghanistan’s National SecurityCouncil.
The delegation has secretly traveled to Qatar, aimed at meeting with thepolitical representatives of the Taliban insurgent group, a source close tothe Taliban told Ariana News on Saturday.
Waheed Muzhda, a pro-Taliban political analyst who is familiar with thetalks, said Saturday that the delegation will ask Taliban to announce aceasefire in exchange for the release of their prisoners, including AnasHaqqani, a key member of the Haqqani Network.
According to Muzhda, President Ashraf Ghani’s delegation will also call onTaliban to hold direct talks with Afghan government negotiators, during anintra-Afghan meeting that will be held in Beijing, in the near future.
However, Taliban leaders have not accepted to meet with Ghani’s visitingdelegation in Doha, the capital of Qatar, a source close to Taliban said.
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Apparently, the delegation is currently busy meeting with Qatari officials.
The Office of National Security Council and Taliban’s political office inQatar denied to make comments in this regard.
Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danish on Friday said that the Afghangovernment is ready to release the Taliban prisoners in order to helppromote confidence-building measures and create conditions for peace talksbetween the Afghan government and the Taliban.
