Gov’t Forms Negotiation Team to Talk With Taliban

The State Ministry for Peace Affairs in a statement says that the government has formed a negotiation team of 15 members which is supposed to talk with the Taliban in the near future.

The ministry does not publicize the negotiating team members’ names yet but says that the political, social, and ethnic diversity has been considered while the formation of the team to represent the Islamic republic considering the Afghan people’s interests and achievements.

Meanwhile, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, says that he is wrapping up his most productive visit to Afghanistan and is leaving Kabul for Doha.

“The U.S. and Afghanistan have agreed on the next steps. And a negotiating team and technical support group are being finalized,” tweeted Khalilzad.

“I am off to Doha, with a stop in Islamabad, In Doha, if the Taliban do their part, we will do ours, and conclude the agreement we have been working on,” he said in a tweet.

This comes as the Taliban have rejected talking to the government representatives.

They have said that will talk to the negotiating team only as of the political side of talks.