Both sides try to downplay current talks
DOHA, Qatar — Afghan and Taliban officials will hold two days of “reconciliation” talks in Qatar, the Gulf nation’s state news agency reported Saturday, although both sides sought to downplay expectations from the meeting.
QNA did not identify the officials taking part in the talks, which it said began Saturday, citing Foreign Ministry official Yousif Al Sada.
“The dialogue will be through open discussions about the Afghan reconciliation between all parties in Afghanistan,” the agency said.
In a statement, the Taliban earlier identified eight people they said would take part in the talks on their behalf. However, they said the discussions “should not be misconstrued as peace or negotiation talks.”
“It is worth mentioning that all participants of this conference attend in an individual capacity, no one participates as representatives for any govern- ment or party,” the statement said.
Afghan presidential spokesman Ajmal Abidy said members of the country’s High Peace Council would attend the talks in Doha in their “personal capacity only.”
Previous efforts to launch peace talks have failed. In 2013, the Taliban opened an office in Qatar for the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” It also hoisted the same white flag flown during the Taliban’s five-year rule of Afghanistan that ended with the 2001 Americanled invasion. The raising of the flag sparked immediate outrage from thenPresident Hamid Karzai and the U.S., derailing talks and eventually leading the Taliban to shutter the office.
While the office never opened, Qatar has become a location to open backchannel communication with the Taliban. Qatari intermediaries helped U.S. officials negotiate for the release of captive U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last year, American officials have said.
Current Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, elected last year, has pushed for peace talks with the Taliban.