Afghan government

At Afghan Peace Talks, The Hard Work Begins

September 13, 2020 3:18 pm

Peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators get down to business Sunday, with the search for a lasting ceasefire one of many key issues up for discussion.

A slick opening ceremony in the Qatari capital Doha on Saturday saw the Afghan government, and allies including the US, call for a ceasefire.

But the Taliban, who have fought a guerrilla campaign against both since they were forced from power in 2001, did not mention a truce as they came to the negotiating table.

The head of the peace process for the Afghan government suggested to AFP that the Taliban

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Afghan Peace Talks Set To Begin In Qatar

September 12, 2020 11:43 am

The opening ceremony for long-awaited historic, face-to-face peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban militant group is set to hold on Saturday in the Qatari capital, Doha.

After nearly two decades of fighting, senior Taliban leaders and a high-ranking government delegation are set to meet in the city’s Sheraton Hotel.

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The ceremony is expected to be attended by the chairperson of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo has described the talks as “Afghanistan’s best chance at …

Taliban Reject Afghan Offer To Free 1,500 Prisoners

March 11, 2020 5:08 pm

The Taliban rejected the Afghan government’s attempt to resolve a spiralling crisis over the release of insurgent prisoners Wednesday, as Kabul warned it was ready to resume offensive battlefield operations.The decree issued earlier by President Ashraf Ghani had raised hopes that Kabul’s offer to free 1,500 insurgents as a “gesture of goodwill” before talks begin, would prompt the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.

But Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told AFP that “5,000 prisoners should be released as a trust-building measure, and … this should be before the intra-Afghan talks”, refusing to budge from a longstanding demand …