Twenty Afghan officials were on their way to Qatar on Saturday where they participated in discussions organized by the Pugwash peace movement, according to Abdul Hakim Mujahid, first deputy of the High Peace Council, an Afghan government body responsible for contacts with the insurgents. He said these meetings would be held Sunday and Monday.
A delegation from the Afghan government will meet in Qatar Sunday, May 3 with representatives of the Taliban to participate in a conference on peace, while fighting rages in Afghanistan.
In Qatar, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Doha hosted these reconciliation talks to try and ensure security, peace and stability to the Afghan people. He said for his part that the meetings were held on Saturday and Sunday.
No peace talks
In a broadcast late Friday, the Taliban confirmed their participation in the meetings which they said would focus on the problems of Afghanistan. The insurgents sent a delegation of eight people in Qatar. They wished to personally deliver the message of an oppressed nation, adding that the Taliban delegations have been sent previously for similar conferences in France and Japan.
However, the Taliban has said that the participation of the Islamic Emirate (the official name of the Taliban movement) does not mean holding onto the peace negotiations. The press release also stated that participants attending the meeting individually and not for a camp or government.
The announcement of these discussions came as a heavy hand fighting a rage in these recent days, especially around Kunduz in the north. The Taliban presented several conditions before accepting the opening of peace talks, including the departure of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.
But NATO still maintains 12,500 troops in Afghanistan as part of the mission to give support and resolve the conflict and to train the Afghan army. Afghan leaders multiplying diplomatic efforts in recent weeks with regional powers like Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia and China are to try to build a consensus in favorable conditions for the opening negotiations with the Taliban insurgents, though though the Taliban repeatedly denied the imminent opening of negotiations suggested by press reports.