Direct talks with Taliban postponed for at least two weeks

Javid Faisal, deputy spokesman for Chief Executive Officer, has said the talks will likely start with some delays, despite the government was fully prepared for the talks.

He said the members of the Quadrilateral coordination Group (QCG) are busy to organize the direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban group as soon as possible.

Faisal further added that QCG members are also working to ascertain the main reason behind the delays, insisting that delay was not caused by the Afghan government.

This comes as Taliban group refused to sit-in for direct peace talks with the Afghan government amid efforts by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) to revive the stalled talks.

According to a statement released by the group on Saturday, the decision to refrain from direct negotiations was taken due to deployment of troops by US to Afghanistan, ongoing airstrikes, and expansion of military operations by Afghan government amid ongoing efforts to revive peace talks, which the group called a ‘propaganda’.

The group once reiterated on its pre-conditions to sit-in for peace talks, saying ”unless the occupation of Afghanistan is ended, black lists eliminated and innocent prisoners freed, such futile misleading negotiations will not bear any results.”

The Afghan government was expecting to meet the Taliban representatives during a direct face to face meeting to discuss the peace process in the first week of this month. Khaama press writes.