Afghan ministry sees ‘major progress’ in US-Taliban talks

KABUL: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says “major progress” has been achieved in the ongoing talks between the US and Taliban negotiators in Doha, Qatar, and that a potential agreement between the two sides will lead to intra-Afghan negotiations.

The Afghan government is fully prepared for direct talks with the Taliban, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sibghatullah Ahmadi, said on Monday. “There are reports of comprehensive progress in these talks and we hope to reach peace after intra-Afghan negotiations,” Ahmadi said. One member of the Taliban’s negotiating team, Shahabuddin Dilawar, said talks on a ceasefire will be part of the agenda in intra-Afghan talks. “Ceasefire will be an important topic in [future] intra-Afghan negotiations… After that, hopefully, there will be a ceasefire and the war will end in Afghanistan,” he said.

Despite speculations that the Taliban has split into several factions, Agha Jan Mutasim, a former member of the Taliban, said the group is united and that there is no disintegration in it.

“The Taliban remains a unified group. Son of Mullah Mohammad Omar [Taliban’s founding leader who died in 2013] serves as the deputy of Mullah Hibatullah [the incumbent leader of the group] and they are undertaking their work in consultation with Mullah Hibatullah,” Mutasim said.

“We should not sacrifice peace for elections and instead sacrifice elections for peace,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander. The Taliban negotiating team in Qatar has said that the agreement with the US will be signed in front of international media and international guarantors. The intra-Afghan talks apparently will be held in one of the European capitals.