KABUL – The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has said the proposed intra-Afghan talks are likely to commence later this week.
It said in a statement that UNAMA officials met the Taliban political commission officials in Doha on Saturday expressing support for direct intra-Afghan talks starting this week. “Reduced violence is required to improve atmosphere for negotiations. UN underscored its availability to give expert help to the peace process”, it said.
This comes as members of the government's negotiating team have told Salam Watandar the intra-Afghan peace talks have been postponed for unknown reasons.
Ghulam Farooq Majrooh and Habiba Sarabi, two members of the negotiating team, told Salam Watandar that the intra-Afghan talks scheduled for next week in Doha have been postponed for unclear reasons. They do not know when these talks will resume.
The members of the negotiating team did not elaborate on the postponement of face-to-face talks with the Taliban negotiating team, but expressed hope that it could go begin in Doha next week.
However, the Taliban have issued a statement saying that the government is blocking the start of the intra-Afghan talks.
Meanwhile, Najia Anwari, a spokeswoman for the state ministry for peace, rejected the Taliban's claim that the Afghan government was reluctant to start talks. She said that the precondition for the talks was the release of 400 prisoners, 80 of whom have been released so far. She added that the government's negotiating team is ready to visit Qatar for talks.
The Intra-Afghan talks were scheduled to take place three days after the release of 400 Taliban prisoners, but the Taliban announced that the talks would now take place in Qatar on Aug. 16. (SW)