Taliban seek a few days to submit agenda

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghan government and Taliban working groups have yet to firm up the agenda for formal talks as they failed to meet on Monday.

Since the resumption of the peace negotiations in Doha on Jan. 6, the two sides have held three meeting. The working groups, however, have not met over the last six days.

Sources familiar with the dialogue say the Taliban have sought a few days to submit their agenda. The Taliban made the request during a meeting between the chief negotiators earlier in the week.

Nader Nadery, a member of the government delegation, said chief negotiators and a few members discussed the agenda on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, Wolesi Jirga Speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani called the delay in setting the agenda and the failure to hammer out a plan for ending the war as big hurdles to peace.

Disagreements between the two sides on a comprehensive ceasefire are a principal reason for the delay in firming up the agenda.

According to former Taliban member Jalaluddin Shinwari, the rebel movement wants to eliminate factors behind the war while the government insists on a ceasefire.

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