Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Govt., Taliban Delegations to Again Meet in Murree on Friday

Govt., Taliban  Delegations to Again Meet in Murree on Friday

KABUL - Reports suggest that the Afghan government and Taliban delegations are again meeting in the Murree exurb of Islamabad for peace talks on Friday.

Pakistani news agency Dawn quotes an unnamed government source close to the reconciliation process as saying that the second round of peace talks are more substantive, raising hopes for a workable peace process to end the conflict in Afghanistan.

“The fact that the two sides are re-convening in less than a month is encouraging. It is a big success,” he said, reiterating that the talks are intra-Afghan and that Pakistan is only a facilitator.

“It is an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace initiative. We are here to facilitate.” He said.

About reports of fractions within Taliban over the peace process, the news agency has asked another government official who replied as saying that there could be some who want an end to the conflict but some others may prefer to fight. He says the group that is participating in the peace talks is the mainstream.

“There are people who want to talk and there could be people who would want to fight. But the group that has the largest number of fighters on the ground and is able to make an impact will have the sway. And that is the mainstream group that is holding the talks,” he said.

Although, the agenda of this round of peace talks is not yet made public but a seize fire is expected to be on the top of it. In the first round of peace talks on July 7 Hekmat Khalil Karzai, Afghanistan’s deputy foreign minister on political affairs, who was leading Afghan government delegation reportedly told Taliban delegation that fighting and peace talks cannot go together. (Tolonews)