KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday met with the negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan who returned to the country this week after three months of talks with the Taliban in Doha where they agreed on procedural rules for the negotiations.
The negotiators paused the talks for 23 days on December 14 and vowed to resume it on January 5 and added that during this time, they will hold talks with their leaders on the demands that have been shared between both sides as part of the agenda of the negotiations.
The Afghan Republic negotiators briefed President Ghani on the first round of the talks in Doha, the Presidential Palace said.
Both sides have verbally shared their demands with each other. Main parts of their demands are about the future government, women’s rights, freedom of expression and ceasefire. 
President Ghani asked the negotiators to share with the people their findings and perceptions from the first round of the talks, the Palace said in a statement.
The statement added that hold consultations with various layers of society ahead of starting the second round of the negotiations.
Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, was also present at the meeting. The negotiators met with Abdullah this week.
The Afghan president has called on the Taliban to hold the second round of the negotiations in Kandahar. However, a Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told TOLOnews this week that the talks will resume in Doha.
The first round of the negotiations started on September 12. Both sides discussed the procedural rules for several weeks and achieved an agreement on it earlier this month. (TOLO NEWS)