‘U.S.-Taliban next round of talks to be held in Doha in Sep’

A member of Taliban group says the White House diplomacy efforts are proving successful, groundbreaking preliminary talks with the U.S. last month were “very helpful” and that another round will take place in Doha in September.

The Guardian newspaper has written that a senior member of the Taliban’s Quetta Shura told the newspaper that the first round of basic contacts “were very helpful” and “The next round will be more specific and focused on key issues.”

According to U.S. website the Daily Beast, the Taliban negotiators have shown willingness to compromise on the longstanding demand to evict all foreign troops before any negotiations with the Afghan government.

The report claimed that the Taliban could even countenance a remaining U.S. force in the country so long as it was involved in the political process that reached such an agreement.

In the meantime, Afghan political analysts say the peace talks should be accompanied by the preservation of Afghan values.

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U.S., Taliban to discuss ‘Withdrawal of American Forces’ in next meeting

A senior former member of the Taliban says the U.S. delegation and Taliban representatives are expected to discuss withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in their next meeting.

On Sunday, Reuters reported that a meeting has taken place between a senior U.S. diplomat and Taliban representatives in Doha, capital of Qatar which ended with very positive signals.

According to the report, the meeting has happened between a U.S. delegation led by Alice Wells, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and Taliban representatives in a hotel in Doha, last week.

The report noted that the talks had been held without the presence of Afghan government officials.

Citing a Taliban official, Reuters also said that the talks took place with the approval of the leadership council. The two sides had discussed proposals to allow the Taliban free movement in two provinces where they would not be attacked, an idea that President Ashraf Ghani has already rejected. They also discussed Taliban participation in the Afghan government.”

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Top US envoy met with Taliban officials in Qatar to explore ways for peace talks

A delegation of US officials led by Ambassador Alice Wells, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, met with the Taliban officials in Qatar to explore ways for the revival of Afghan-led peace talks, it has been reported.

Sources privy of the development have told The Wall Street Journal that the top U.S. envoy for South Asia met with Taliban officials this week to discuss ways to lay the groundwork for peace talks.

The sources have further added that the aim of the discussion was to build on momentum created by a recent three-day cease-fire that offered Afghans a tantalizing taste of peace after decades of war, these people said.

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U.S. ready for direct talks with Taliban, Nicholson says

The United States is ready to join direct negotiations with the Taliban in an effort to end the 17 year-long war in Afghanistan, the top U.S. commander General John Nicholson, said on Monday.

The comment follows increased diplomatic efforts to seek talks following unprecedented scenes of unarmed Taliban fighters mingling with Afghan security forces on the streets of Kabul and other cities during last month’s surprise ceasefire.

Nicholson, who leads the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said the United States recognised it had a key role to play.

“Our Secretary of State, Mr (Mike) Pompeo, has said that we, the United States, are ready to talk to the Taliban and discuss the role of international forces,” he said.

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US rules out direct negotiations with the Taliban group

Ambassador Alice Wells, the senior bureau official for South and Central Asian Affairs, has said the United States government is prepared to support, facilitate, and participate in direct negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

In an official testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Ambassador Wells said “Our desired outcomes for any peace process are clear and have not changed. The Taliban must renounce violence, break ties with al-Qaida, and accept the Afghan Constitution – including its protections for women and minorities.”

“There have been signs that the Taliban’s Pakistan-based leaders are debating the merits of joining a peace process; however, the group has not responded to President Ghani’s offer of unconditional talks,” she added.

This comes as the Taliban group leadership has been emphasizing on direct talks with the US officials in a bid to end the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

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Taliban supreme leader offers direct negotiations with the United States

The Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada has offered direct negotiations with the United States in a bid to end the ongoing conflict.

“The only path to rescuing ourselves from all these calamities is for all American and other occupying forces to leave our country and for an independent, Islamic, intra-Afghan government to take root. Our Jihad began for this exact purpose and in conjunction to our armed Jihad, we have kept the doors of understanding and negotiations open to reach this objective and appointed the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate as the exclusive avenue of activity in this regard,” Hebatullah said in a message released ahead of Eid.

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Taliban welcomes afghan Jihadi leader’s offer for direct talks

The Taliban issuing a statement in response to offer of Ismail Khan, an Afghan Jihadi leader and a former governor of Herat province, has welcomed the offer and invited “Jihadi Leaders” for talks to its political office in Doha, the capital city of Qatar.

According to the statement, Ismail Khan had demanded the militant group that if the Taliban are not willing to respond the government’s peace offer, then they should start talks with Jihadi leaders for ending violence and the war in Afghanistan.

The statement said that the Taliban appreciates any true and real efforts for ending the ongoing conflicts in the country.

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Afghan, Pakistani delegations agree to hold next meeting in Islamabad

A delegation of senior Pakistani officials on Saturday visited Kabul and discussed on range of bilateral issues with Afghan counterparts.

The Pakistani delegation comprising senior civilian and military officials led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua visited Kabul as part of Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity.

The delegation has offered a joint investigation into the recent terrorist attacks in Kabul.

A spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs of Afghanistan, Shekib Mustaghni said that the Pakistani delegation has launched probing the documents given by the Afghan delegation on their trip to Islamabad.

“They [Pakistani delegation] pledged to jointly probe the recent attacks with Afghanistan,” Mustaghni said.

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Pakistan Halting Afghan Peace Process

Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (HPC) says Pakistan clearly intervening in Afghan peace talks, and not letting the process to “practically” get started.

Addressing an event on Tuesday in Kabul, the HPC Secretary Mohammad Akram Khpalwak said the intervention of Central Asian countries particularly Pakistan, the presence of terrorist groups and drug trafficking mafia are the “serious” challenges in front of Afghan peace process.

He urged the international community to support the Afghan government by building an international consensus in this regard.

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Negotiations between ARG and Jamiat ‘ended with no results’

Jamiat-e-Islami political party has not reached into an agreement with Presidential Palace, following several rounds of negotiations between the two sides, sources told Ariana News on Saturday.

Delegations from Jamiat-e-Islami begins negotiations with the central government after Atta Mohammad Noor who is also the executive director of Jamiet-e-Islami was ousted by the president about a month ago, but he has refused to leave the post.

Sources told Ariana News on condition of anonymity that the Interior Minister, Wais Ahmad Barmak has revisited Balkh province to convey the President’s Office decision to ousted provincial governor Noor.

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