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A formal meeting between Afghan government delegations and representatives of the Taliban began in Doha on Saturday at the initiative of Qatar to end the 19-year war in Afghanistan.
The meeting will find a way to end the war and restore peace. That is what everyone expects. But Afghan officials have expressed frustration at the Taliban’s clashes with Afghan forces before the meeting began.
Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said: “Once the Afghan-to-Afghan talks began, we expected the Taliban to reduce their attacks.” But unfortunately, the number of his attacks is increasing day by day. “
He said the Taliban had carried out 16 attacks on government forces and institutions across Afghanistan since the beginning of the peace talks on Friday, killing many.
Officials confirmed last night reports of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan’s Kapisa and Kunduz provinces, despite the start of peace talks on Saturday.
Representatives from several countries, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, attended the opening ceremony of the Afghan-Taliban peace talks on Saturday.
They expressed their frustration at the news of the resumption of Taliban fighting against Afghan forces and called on the Taliban to declare an immediate ceasefire. However, the Taliban representatives present at the meeting have yet to say anything about a possible ceasefire.
But on the first day of Sunday’s meeting, the two sides will discuss how to reach a permanent ceasefire by significantly reducing the level of conflict from the start, Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said on Saturday. He leads an Afghan government delegation in Doha.
Although delegations from both sides arrived in Doha on Saturday, they did not meet that day. The head of the Taliban delegation, Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar, and the head of the Afghan delegation, Abdullah Abdullah, met with the Emir of Qatar on Saturday, the Qatari state news agency reported.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement that the Taliban had attacked a convoy of Afghan forces on a road in Kunduz.
Zabihullah also said in a statement that Afghan security forces carried out airstrikes and shelling in Baghlan and Jawzjan provinces on Saturday night.
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