KABUL have confirmed their participation in the intra-Afghan dialogue co-hosted by Qatar and Germany in Doha.
The intra-Afghan dialogue is scheduled for July 7 and 8 in the capital of Qatar. The gathering is expected to pave the ground for direct talks between Kabul and Taliban.
Shohail Shaheen, spokesman for Taliban’s political office in Doha, tweeted on Wednesday that representatives of the movement would take part in the meeting.
He said around 60 people would participate in the talks in their personal capacity like the previous conferences.
A few days back, Shaheen had said they would enter intra-Afghan talks with the government after the announcement of a timeframe for foreign troops’ withdrawal.
On Tuesday, Presidential spokesman Sidiq Sidiqi said the talks were being organised with the cooperation of the Germany government in Qatar.
The Afghan government would have no role in it. According to Sidiqi, some Afghans have been invited to attend the gathering in their personal capacity.
However, the list of participants has not been unveiled so far, but President Ashraf Ghani’s senior advisor Fazal Mahmood Fazli told Pajhwok former president Hamid Karzai and his aides and presidential candidates would not participate in talks.
He said some advisors of the former president might take part in the upcoming talks.
Other sources said that Haji Din Mohammad, Ismael Khan, Atta Mohammad Noor, Fauzia Kofi, Dr. Omar Zakhilwal and some other individuals had been invited to the talks.
Former envoy Zakhilwal tweeted: “I’m pleased to take part in the intra-Afghan talks in Qatar, hosted by Germany.”
He said talks between the US and Taliban had reached a delicate phase and intra-Afghan negotiations were necessary to steer the country out of the current crisis.
Javed Ghafoor, spokesman for the High Peace Council (HPC), said they welcomed any step towards Afghan peace. Such meetings should be led and owned by the Afghans, he concluded.
sa/mud
