City
Epaper

7th round of US-Taliban talks to begin on Saturday

By IANS | Updated: June 28, 2019 11:10 IST

The seventh round of peace talks between the US and Taliban will begin in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday amid renewed hopes of a potential ceasefire, the media reported.

Open in App

The Afghan government has expressed optimism that the two-day meeting will also help kick off intra-Afghan talks, reports TOLO News.

"I am hopeful that this time there are some breakthroughs so that the way is opened for intra-Afghan talks which are the key issue," Haji Din Mohammad, deputy head of the High Peace Council, said on Thursday.

"We hope that these talks lead to the start of intra-Afghan talks so that peace and stability can prevail in Afghanistan through political dialogue," said Omid Maisam, deputy spokesman to Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

Informed sources said the Taliban has never supported an irresponsible exit of the foreign forces from Afghanistan and that there were hopes that the two sides reach some type of agreement on a responsible withdrawal of foreign troops from the country in their upcoming discussion.

"The important issue is that if the Americans exit then it will be a responsible withdrawal. A possible agreement between the Taliban and them (American side) will also determine a timeframe for this," TOLO News quoted Mawlavi Qalamuddin, a former Taliban commander who served as head of the regime's religious police chief when the group was in power, as saying on Thursday.

In May, US and Taliban negotiators wrapped up the sixth round of talks in Doha, but failed to finalise the draft agreement, which will now be the main item on the agenda for the seventh round.

US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who leads the American delegation in the talks, had tweeted after the sixth round that merely holding the talks was not "sufficient when so much conflict rages and innocent people are dying".

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: Tolo NewsAfghanistanusHaji Din Mohammad
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalColorado Nightclub Raid: Over 100 Illegal Immigrants Detain at Underground Nightclub in US; Video Surfaces

BusinessGlobal Tech Firms Eye India for Manufacturing Amid US-China Tensions

InternationalIllinois Plane Crash: 4 Killed After Cessna C180G Aircraft Goes Down After Hitting Power Lines in Trilla

NationalPM Narendra Modi Discusses Tech and Innovation Collaboration With Elon Musk

InternationalEarthquake in Afghanistan: Quake of Magnitude 5.9 Strikes Hindu Kush Region; Tremors Felt in Delhi-NCR

International Realted Stories

International"President Lorenzo condemned terrorist act in J-K," says MEA Secy

InternationalAngola President Lourenco condemns Pahalgam terror attack, expresses solidarity with India in tackling cross-border terrorism

InternationalSriLankan Airlines Flight From Chennai Searched After Pahalgam Attack Tip-Off, No Suspects Found

InternationalFlight from Chennai undergoes security search in Colombo, no terror suspects found on board

InternationalPress freedom under siege: Pakistan falls to 158th in global rankings