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Khalilzad in Doha discusses commencement of intra-Afghan talks with Taliban
The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Commander of US forces in Afghanistan General Scott Miller met with the deputy leader for the Taliban Mullah Ghani Baradar in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Suhail Shaheen, the political spokesman for the Taliban tweeted that the two sides discussed the kick start of the long-waited intra-Afghan dialogue.
“Both sides talked about speedy release of the prisoners and commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations,” Shaheen said.
A Pakistani news agency – Arab News – cited a Taliban official reported that Taliban leadership, known as Rehbari Shoura, has approved the commencement of the intra-Afghan talks.
Majority of the council members, who met during the month of Ramadan, opined that if parts of the peace agreement with the United States, particularly the release of Taliban prisoners, were implemented then there was no harm in starting the dialogue, a Taliban official familiar with the process has told the Arab News.
“Another meeting of the Shoura will decide the agenda for the intra-Afghan dialogue which is expected to be held soon,” the official said on a condition of anonymity.
It comes as Khalilzad met with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa Sunday and discussed steps required for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations.
“The two took note of recent progress created by the Eid ceasefire and accelerated prisoner releases as well as reduced violence ahead of intra-Afghan negotiations,” US Embassy in Islamabad said in a statement.
According to the statement, the two sides agreed that peace in Afghanistan offers an unprecedented opportunity to advance security, connectivity, and development for the region.
Meanwhile, Khalilzad is expected to visit Kabul to review the implementation of all commitments in the US-Taliban agreement and with all parties as well as the US-Afghanistan JointDeclaration, “specifically reduced violence and prisoner releases.”
“The primary the focus of Ambassador Khalilzad’s trip is to obtain agreement between the Afghan parties on the practical next steps necessary for a smooth start to intra-Afghan negotiations,” the US Department of State said.
Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump, says efforts are ongoing to secure the release of all Americans detained in Afghanistan.
In a post on X, Gorka marked the anniversary of the release of George Glezmann, who had been held for 836 days, describing his detention as part of what he called the Islamic Emirate’s use of “hostage diplomacy.”
He added that Trump “will not rest” until all Americans held in Afghanistan are freed, naming detainees including Dennis Coyle, Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and Polynesus Jackson.
“Kabul, you have been warned,” he said.
The remarks come amid increased US pressure, including a recent designation by U.S. State Department labeling Afghanistan a “state sponsor of wrongful detention.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has described the decision as regrettable, emphasizing that disputes should be addressed through dialogue.
The ministry, said that citizens of no country are detained in Afghanistan for bargaining purposes. Instead, some individuals have been arrested on charges of violating the law, many of whom have later been released after completing legal procedures.
Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs, says Islamabad does not seek to impose war on Afghanistan or occupy any part of its territory.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, he stated that Pakistan’s primary expectation is for Afghanistan to prevent militant groups from using its soil to launch attacks against Pakistan. He warned that failure to address this concern could lead to the continuation of Pakistani operations targeting such groups.
Pakistani officials have long maintained that militant attacks in Pakistan are planned from Afghan territory. However, the Islamic Emirate has rejected the claim, insisting that Afghanistan is not responsible for what it describes as Pakistan’s “security failures.”
Afghanistan has once again been ranked the least happy country in the world, according to the latest edition of the World Happiness Report.
The report, which measures people’s overall life satisfaction across 147 countries, placed Afghanistan at the bottom of the global ranking for another year, with a score 1.4 out of 10. Researchers assess factors such as income levels, social support, freedom to make life choices, perceptions of corruption, and overall quality of life.
For the ninth consecutive year, Finland ranked as the world’s happiest country, with a score of 7.7. Iceland and Denmark followed it, as Nordic nations continued to dominate the top of the index.
A notable development came from Costa Rica, which climbed to fourth place — the highest ranking ever recorded for a Latin American country.
Other countries with low rankings included Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
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