DOHA (Pajhwok): The government’s chief negotiator for direct talks with the Taliban the delay in the commencement of formal negotiations should not be seen as cause for concern.
Mohammad Massoum Stanikzai said after a meeting with President Ashraf Ghani in Doha on Monday both sides remained committed to getting the peace talks off the ground.
He said the negotiations might take time but both delegations had a will to achieve success and talk out their differences.
Stanikzai remarked: “A few days of pause should not spark concerns. I feel both sides are committed to the peace negotiations.”
Another member of the Stanikzai-led delegation, Khalid Noor, said contact groups from the two sides had met several times over the past few days in an attempt to resolve disputed points.
Two issues – the Hanafi jurisprudence and the government’s refusal to recognise the US-Taliban deal as framework for talks -- are said to be holding up the process.
But Noor insisted the government team emphasised on freedom of speech and women’s rights.
“We are here to defend these values and we have made the Taliban understand that today’s Afghanistan is different from how it was 20 years ago,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ariana News quoted political activist Fawzia Kofi as saying: “Women are part of our society; therefore, their security and their freedom is very important.”
She called the freedom of speech and other liberties achieved over the past two decades a milestone.
Kofi acknowledged the peace talks were complicated as the negotiators were trying to resolve four decades of war through dialogue.
Earlier, Nader Naderi said Ghani was in Qatar on a formal visit that was not directly linked to the peace talks in Doha.
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