A senior delegation of the Afghan government and Taliban representatives met in Doha for high-stakes negotiations on Saturday.

The two sides have been meeting on and off for months in the Qatari capital. The Afghan government delegation was led by the chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, while the Taliban’s negotiating team was led by the group’s deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

Present on the occasion was HE Dr Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani, Special Envoy of Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution.
The negotiators from the two sides called for flexibility, restraint and to move beyond self-interest. Both sides stressed on the importance of bilateral dialogue, which is only way to save the country from further destruction.

In an exclusive interview with Qatar Tribune, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said, “Taliban believe in unity, peace and to serve the country hand-in-hand with all the stakeholders.”

Shaheen said he expects the Afghan government delegation must be having something “tangible in hand to offer so that we can reach a final solution”.

When asked about his expectations from the two-day conference, Zalmay Khalilzad, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, said: “There will certainly be an outcome, but what, cannot say.”

S Sadat Mansoor Naderi, State Minister for Peace of Afghanistan government and senior member of delegation, said both sides gave positive remarks in opening session speeches. He said the stakeholders of peace in Afghanistan are the people of Afghanistan and “we hope for the positive outcome”.

As a member of the Afghan government delegation, he said, “We understand that quick solution to a 43-year long conflict is not that easy. Now, we have come to a point where there are important topics on the table for discussions. We hope that at least there will be an understanding about each side’s position on these topics.”

“As far as Afghan government and the people of Afghanistan are concerned, the immediate demand is of ceasefire, and we hope this point may come under discussions, we will keep our doors open,” he added.

Naderi thanked government of Qatar for hosting them since the past 10 months and paid his gratitude to the regional and international partners as well.
He said he hopes to have positive news by end of the high-level discussions.