Afghan government officials in direct talk with Taliban

The Afghan government publicly confirmed Tuesday that a delegation from the High Peace Council has traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan, to engage in talks with the Taliban.

The Taliban’s official spokesman has in the past disavowed the tentative peace process, saying those meeting with Afghanistan’s government were not authorized to do so.

Several informal meetings have been held in recent months between Taliban representatives and Afghan officials and activists. “If consultations and meetings between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban are conducted on a regular basis, it would bear positive outcomes on the issues facing Afghanistan“, Syed Akbar Agha said.

Kabul: A senior Afghan official has accused Pakistani helicopters of airdropping weapons to the Taliban militants in the troubled southeastern part of Afghanistan.

The Taliban repeatedly have insisted that only members of its Qatar-based political office are allowed to talk peace.

Over the past two months, several such meetings have been held in Doha, Qatar; Oslo, Norway; and Urumqi, China.

The destroyed vehicle used in the suicide attack in Kabul on Tuesday. The Afghan Taliban’s campaign against the government could be significantly slowed by ISIS’ advances, but the Taliban’s willingness to negotiation with the governments could also lead to a new wave of defections of its members to ISIS. Officials from China and the United States were also present during the discussions, which were an attempt to end more the war in Afghanistan that began with the US-led invasion in 2001.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who holds helped when it comes to the peace procedure and also has motivated… The two countries recently signed an agreement between Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Sources say a statement by the Taliban is expected later on Wednesday.

“The United States commends the government of Afghanistan’s prioritisation of peace and reconciliation efforts with the Taliban”.

Afghan officials have long accused their eastern neighbour, which supported the Taliban during their 1996-2001 rule, of using the militants to further its own interests in the country – specifically as a hedge against Indian influence.

On the other hand, the diplomat said, the Islamic State’s growing relevance could reduce the possibility of peace talks.

On Twitter, the Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks, which came a week after last Tuesday’s strike by a suicide bomber on a convoy of US troops close to the US embassy.