Qatar says Taliban, Afghan officials to hold talks

Both sides engage in face-to-face ‘reconciliation’ parley in Doha two years after failed negotiations

By AP 2 May 2015, 10:12 pm

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This June 18, 2013 file photo shows a general view of the Taliban office in Doha before the official opening in Doha, Qatar. (photo credit: AP Photo/Osama Faisal, File)

DOHA, Qatar — Afghan and Taliban officials will hold two days of “reconciliation” talks in Qatar, the Gulf nation’s state news agency reported Saturday, although both sides sought to downplay expectations from the meeting.

QNA did not identify the officials taking part in the talks, which it said began Saturday, citing Foreign Ministry official Yousif Al Sada.

“The dialogue will be through open discussions about the Afghan reconciliation between all parties in Afghanistan,” the agency said.

In a statement, the Taliban earlier identified eight people they said would take part in the talks on their behalf. However, they said the discussions “should not be misconstrued as peace or negotiation talks.”

“It is worth mentioning that all participants of this conference attend in an individual capacity, no one participates as representatives for any government or party,” the statement said. “Since this is a research conference, therefore, every participant gives their opinion on a range of issues.”

Afghan presidential spokesman Ajmal Abidy said members of the country’s High Peace Council would attend the talks in Doha in their “personal capacity only.”

“They will meet face to face,” Abidy told The Associated Press. “Nothing is going on. We have no expectations.”

Previous efforts to launch peace talks have failed. In 2013, the Taliban opened an office in Qatar for the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” It also hoisted the same white flag flown during the Taliban’s five-year rule of Afghanistan that ended with the 2001 American-led invasion. The raising of the flag sparked immediate outrage from then president Hamid Karzai and the US, derailing talks and eventually leading the Taliban to shutter the office.

While the office never opened, Qatar has become a place to open back-channel communication with the Taliban. Qatari intermediaries helped US officials negotiate for the release of captive US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last year, American officials have said.

Current Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, elected last year, has pushed for peace talks with the Taliban.