KABUL - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the intra-Afghan conference for peace in the Qatari capital Doha has been a long time coming and it is great to see senior government, civil society, women and Taliban representatives at one table together.
He said all Americans should be glad to see Afghans sitting with Afghans to begin the tough task of ending their country's conflict and building a shared future together.
After jointly opening the first session of intra-Afghan meeting in Doha, Potzel Markus in a tweet said: “We have taken the initiative for this dialogue to pave the way for peace in Afghanistan.”
Senior Afghan politicians, government officials, women and civil society activists are in Doha to attend the two-day all-Afghan talks with Taliban representatives. The meeting is brokered by Germany and Qatar.
Potzel Markus said that talks were not enough and that dialogue should turn into a meaningful negotiating process.
He made it clear that the people of Afghanistan could only determine the future of their country.
Every participant of the meeting kicked off Sunday morning will share their views on how to resolve the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.
According to the meeting agenda, the huddle will start with recitation of some verses of the holy Quran and then representatives from Qatar and Germany would deliver welcoming remarks.
Syed Hamid Gelani, head of the Mahaz-i-Melli Political Party, told Pajhwok Afghan News that such meetings could generate hopes for peace and reconciliation in the country.
“In the past, people did not believe such meeting can take place, but I continued my efforts and was hopeful that this day would come,” he said. (Pajhwok)