The ongoing talks between the Taliban and the United States officials in Qatar have entered into its fourth-day talk on Thursday, with the two-sided hoping to establish a mechanism for the ceasefire in the 17-year-long Afghan war, and open dialogues between the Afghanistan government and the insurgents.
According to Reuters news reports, two senior Taliban leaders said the meeting between Taliban representatives and US special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad was originally scripted for two days, but the unexpected extension of talks has raised hopes and considered as a positive sign resolving war-torn Afghan country crisis.
According to one of the Taliban leader, the two-day talks held were focused on a roadmap for the American troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and a guarantee that Afghanistan would not be used as hostile acts against the US and allies.
While speaking on condition of anonymity, the leader told Reuters, “The mechanism for a ceasefire and ways to enter into an intra-Afghan dialogue were the two other big topics that were supposed to be discussed on Thursday.”
A third source based in Gulf said the decision to further extend the meeting in Qatar’s capital Doha comes after “positive progress” seen during their first two-day talks.
Officials at the U.S. embassy in Kabul were not immediately available to comment on the diplomatic developments.
Sayed Ehsan Taheri, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (AHPC), a body which oversees peace efforts but does not represent the government, said, “When talks take a long time it means the discussion is in a sensitive and important stage, and the participants are getting close to a positive result.”
He added, “I hope this meeting opens a way for an intra-Afghan dialogue.”