By Catherine Putz
Details are few, but this meeting seems to be more ‘official’ than previous rounds of talks.
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. Details are limited, and what is known has been gathered from anonymous comments made by Western diplomats as well as Afghan and Pakistani officials.
The Afghan government has pressed for a political solution to the conflict with the Taliban, engaging in a series of informal talks facilitated by Qatar, Norway and China this year. The May meetings in Urumqi, China were organized by Pakistan. The meeting was attended by three members of the old Taliban government and Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, at the time a member of the High Peace Council and as of July 4 the second nominee for Afghan Defense Minister to be rejected by the parliament. The Urumqi meeting was disavowed by the Taliban, as represented by the official political office based in Qatar–which said the men who attended were not official representatives.
According to The Guardian, the Islamabad talks are to take place over iftar–an evening meal at which Muslims break their Ramadan fast. The Express Tribune reported that Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, a cousin of former President Hamid Karzai, was leading the delegation and that Haji Deen Muhammad, the former governor of Nangarhar province, was attending as well. The Express Tribune reported that the Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said he had no information about the talks. It is not clear whether the Taliban in attendance are “official” or the same men that met in Urumqi or another set of Taliban representatives, though the Afghan government certainly seems to have framed the talks as more official than previous sessions.
Read the full story at The Diplomat