Afghan council agrees to form technical team for talks

KABUL: The leadership committee of the High Council for National Reconciliation in a two-day session has decided to form a technical group for consultations with the negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the negotiations that are expected to resume on Jan. 5.

The Afghan government has pledged that the second round of the talks will be held on January 5, 2021, in Qatar. The two-day session was also held to determine the stance of the negotiating team in the talks and its authority in the negotiations. “A group of some members of the negotiating team and the leadership council will be part of a group to prepare the views of the leadership committee for the negotiating team and to provide direction to the peace delegation,” said Fraidoon Khwazoon, a spokesman of the reconciliation council.

Some politicians said that there is a need for consensus on the peace efforts. “We need a consensus both within and outside Afghanistan,” said Ahmad Wali Massoud, head of the Ahmad Shah Massoud Foundation. The Afghan government says that ceasefire is a priority for the Afghan Republic’s negotiating team, but the Taliban has said that ceasefire will be ensured after the agreement on the details of an Islamic system. “We believe that the Islamic republic is the best Islamic system,” said Ghulam Farooq Majroh, an Afghan Republic negotiator.

“We define the Islamic system based on valued sources in the Muslim world,” Hajj and Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Qasim Halimi said. “We will not allow anyone to define (an Islamic system) individually and impose it on us.” A presidential spokesman, Dawa Khan Minapal, said that the next round of talks will be held in Doha to prevent any delay in the process. The Afghan negotiators had a closed-door meeting with senators for several hours on Monday, according to senators.