Abdullah-led govt team to attend Moscow talks

KABUL (Pajhwok): A 16-member government delegation, led by the High Council for National Reconciliation (HNRC) chairman, will attend the Moscow meeting, the State Ministry of Peace Affairs said on Tuesday.

A source in the ministry, who declined to be named, told Pajhwok Afghan News the delegation included Wolesi Jirga Speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani and former president Hamid Karzai.

Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, Mohammad Karim Khalili, Gulbadin Hekmatyar, Babear Farahmand and Syed Mansour Naderi are also part of the delegation.

The source said the government negotiating team chief Masoum Stanikzai, Matin Bek, Ahmad Nader Nadri, Habiba Surabi, Mohammad Alem Izedyar, Abdullah Khanjani, Abdul Sattar Khawasi and Ghairat Bahir were also among the delegates.

The international conference on Afghan peace is scheduled to be held on March 18 in Moscow. Representatives from many countries, including the US, will participate in the talks.

A 10-member Taliban delegation would also travel to Russia to attend the meeting, Dr. Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, confirmed yesterday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says the conference is being held at the initiative of the US, Russia and China. It will be attended by the representatives of Pakistan and Qatar.

sa/mud