Afghanistan sees window of hope in peace talks

KABUL, Afghanistan — A 50-member delegation of Afghan elites is headed to Qatar for peace talks starting Sunday with Taliban leaders, adding to signs that an end to the 18-year conflict could be within reach.

The two-day summit facilitated by Germany and Qatar will be a “historic opportunity for all of them to bridge trust deficit, which will help pave the way for direct peace negotiations between Afghan government and the Taliban,” said Asadullah Zaeri, a spokesman of the country’s High Peace Council. The delegation to Doha, the capital of Qatar, will include politicians, top members of the council, representatives of women’s groups and senior journalists, he added.

The Afghan meeting comes as the U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who’s already holding talks with the Taliban, is nearing an agreement over a time frame for the U.S. and NATO troop withdrawal from the country in exchange for counterterrorism assurances, a pledge by militants to begin direct talks with the government and a cease-fire. It’s expected the two sides will announce a draft deal before or during the Doha summit.

A similar meeting collapsed in April because of disagreements over the list of participants. Both sides had already held two rounds of separate meetings and exchanged views on peace in Moscow. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had protested the Moscow meetings, saying they lacked government representatives.

The Taliban has repeatedly rebuffed Ghani’s call for direct peace negotiations and has called his government illegitimate and a U.S. puppet. The Afghan delegation will attend Sunday’s Doha talks in a personal capacity, not representing Ghani’s government, Zaeri said.

The peace talks have taken on greater urgency as Afghanistan heads for presidential elections Sept. 28 and the Taliban have increased attacks across the country. Ghani, who’s seeking re-election, and the United States are hoping to have a peace deal with the group before the poll.

The Taliban detonated an explosive-laden vehicle next to a facility of the Ministry of Defense, killing or wounding more than 100 in Kabul this past Monday.