Government Negotiation Team Returns to Doha

Mohammad Masoom Stanikzai, Islamic Republic’s chief negotiator, said, “Now, we know what our priorities are in the next round of peace talks.”

There are hopes that the two sides of the negotiating table reach a settlement which is the will of Afghans and leads to ending decades-long war and violence, he said.

Sayed Saadat Mansoor Naderi, State Minister for Peace Affairs, said during their stay in Kabul they held more than 86 meetings with people from various strata of the society to have their advices in the next round of talks.

A comprehensive ceasefire is the main demand of people from the second round of negotiations, Mr. Naderi said.

Meanwhile, the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) held its third meeting of the Leadership Committee with the Republic’s negotiators Monday evening.

According to Faraidoon Khwazoon, spokesman for the high peace council, the Leadership Committee made it clear to the negotiators what the priorities of the Afghan government in the next round of talks are.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, visited Doha and Kabul ahead of start of the second round of peace talks.

Ambassador Khalilzad said in a series of tweets that he returned to Doha and the region while expecting the two negotiating sides to make “tangible progress” in the next rounds of negotiations.

Following his trips to Pakistan and Doha, he visited the Afghan capital Kabul where he met with Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, chairperson of the High Council for National Reconciliation.

Dr. Abdullah called high levels of violence and targeted assassinations “unacceptable”, reiterating his calls for ceasefire leading to a lasting peace in the war-torn country.

The United States’ special envoy also expressed concern over the spate of violence in the country and called them unacceptable, urging the two sides to seize the opportunity for ending the decades-long war and violence.

The representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban resume the second round of talks after 22 days pause. In the first round of talks which lasted for three months, negotiators from the two sides agreed on a code of conduct for the talks and discussed a draft agenda ahead of taking the recess.