Afghan leaders set to discuss agenda for Doha Talks

KABUL: President Ashraf Ghani is expected to chair a key meeting of Afghanistan’s political leaders on Thursday, amid reports that an 11-member team of Afghan politicians plan to travel to Doha by the end of this week for talks with the Taliban on the peace process.

Thursday’s meeting is expected to address the agenda of the talks in Doha and the timeline for the trip. Mohammad Karim Khalili, a member of the 11-member team, said on Wednesday that a ceasefire will be on the main agenda of the talks with the Taliban. “We are holding discussions on the timeline, we will know about more tomorrow and there will be a clear picture,” said Mohammad Karim Khalili, a member of the team. “We warn all warring sides not to be emboldened by war and military advancement, if this situation continues, we will witness a more fragile Afghanistan,” said Khalili.

The Taliban said that the group’s key negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will lead the Taliban delegation in the talks with the Afghan political leaders. Hizb-e-Islami, which is led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, has said that Hekmatyar will also participate in the meeting. “Mr. Hekmatyar will participate in the Doha meeting along with the elders of Afghanistan to talk peace with the Taliban,” said Humayoun Jarir, a member of Hizb-e-Islami. Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council of National Reconciliation (HCNR), also said that the main objective of the trip is to bring peace to the country.

“Peace will also have its own requirements, it requires both sides to reach a settlement, we are going there (Doha) with the same spirit, but it is not possible for one side to try and take something through war and then try to seek its legitimacy in talks,” said Abdullah. Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai, Yunus Qanooni, Karim Khalili, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Salam Rahimi, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi, Enayatullah Baligh and Fatima Gailani are part of the team, sources said. The meeting will follow last week’s talks in Tehran between an Afghan delegation led by former vice president Mohammad Yunus Qanooni and a Taliban delegation led by Abbas Stanekzai.

Some politicians, including former president Karzai’s close aide Abdul Karim Khurram, said the meeting was “highly constructive” during which the two sides shared recommendations with each other.