Afghan Delegation Returns Kabul with Message of Hope, Gift Boxes from Taliban

The airplane of the participants of the Doha intra-Afghan meeting landed in Kabul International Airport late on Tuesday.

Some members of the Afghan delegation, who had just returned from a two-day meeting with the Taliban officials in the capital of Qatar, had smiles on their faces and were carrying gift boxes that were given to them by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a Taliban leader and political chief of the group.

Upon their return at the airport in Kabul, the delegates were welcomed by members of civil society, women, and youth with bouquets of flowers.

Some members of the delegation that were interviewed by Ariana News said that the Taliban officials had a soft position during the two-day meeting that ended with an eight-point declaration emphasizing on the reduction of violence.

Ghairat Baheer, member of Hezb-e-Islami party and a participant of the meeting said that he felt the Taliban is eager to find a political settlement to the issue of Afghanistan.

Baheer described the meeting an important step that created hope.

However, Laila Jafari, civil society and women’s rights activist and a female participant of the Doha meeting said that the Taliban officials did not speak about women’s presence and activities in different areas in Afghanistan if they reach to a possible peace agreement.

Apparently, the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan is the top priority for the Taliban group.

Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman of Taliban’s political office told Ariana News correspondent in Doha that the meeting helped and showed that the “Afghan society is thirsty for peace and all Afghans want the end of occupation”.