Afghan Taliban cancel peace talks with US in Qatar

PESHAWAR: The Afghan Taliban have cancelled peace talks with officials from the United States in Qatar this week, following disagreements over the agenda of the meeting, the group confirmed on Tuesday.

The two-day talks were scheduled to begin today (Wednesday) in capital, Doha. The Taliban had rejected the participation of Afghan government officials in the deliberations.

Taliban have rejected numerous requests from regional powers to allow Afghan officials to take part in the talks, insisting that the US is their main adversary in the 17-year war and that Kabul is a "puppet" regime.

The Taliban, Afghanistan's largest armed group which was toppled from power by a US-led invasion in 2001, called off their meeting with the US officials in Saudi Arabia this week following Riyadh's insistence on bringing the Western-backed Afghan government to the table.

The talks will be the fourth in a series between Taliban leaders and US special envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad.

"After mutual consultations, we are going to meet US officials in Doha on Wednesday. The meeting will continue for two days - Wednesday and Thursday," said a senior member of the Afghan Taliban on condition of anonymity.

Pakistani and Iranian officials said they were trying to persuade the Taliban to meet Afghan officials.

Another senior Taliban leader confirmed the Qatar meeting and said no other country would be involved.

At the request of the US, a Taliban office was established in Doha in 2013 to facilitate peace talks. But the office had to be closed after the Taliban came under pressure for hoisting the same flag at their office that the group used during its rule in Afghanistan.

Subsequently, the then Afghan President Hamid Karzai halted all peace efforts, saying the Doha office was presenting itself as an unofficial embassy for a government-in-exile. The flag has since been taken down and the office has remained empty with no official announcements of a possible reopening. Talks with the Taliban have since been taking place elsewhere in Doha. -- Agencies