KABUL – An Afghan government delegation is going to Doha to meet with the Taliban. This was announced by a senior official said on Thursday.
This comes days before the signing of a historic accord which would see thousands of US troops withdrawn from Afghanistan. Ending America’s longest war engagement in history. The Peace Deal is in return for various security commitments from the Taliban. Including a pledge to hold talks with the Kabul government.
Representatives of the Kabul government will be absent from Saturday’s signing ceremony. Meanwhile, representatives from as many as 30 nations will attend the ceremony. Afghan National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal said the government would send a six-person delegation to Doha. It would meet the insurgents following a request from “the Taliban and our international partners”.
“It’s a group called (an) initial contact group”, he told AFP, adding that the delegation was “not a negotiating team and won’t be negotiating anything with the Taliban. This team isn’t participating (in) the signing ceremony on Saturday,” he added. Afghan Delegation To Meet Taliban in Doha
While the Taliban want all American forces out, the Pentagon insists thousands must remain in Afghanistan to tackle IS and other jihadist groups. The Afghan government said in November that its forces had largely defeated IS but the group still maintains a diminished presence in parts of eastern Afghanistan.