Afghan-Taliban peace negotiators meet for 2nd day

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IANS | 07 Dec, 2020
Peace negotiators from the Afghan government and the Taliban held their second meeting about the agenda of the talks in Doha following their first over the weekend, the media reported.

Sunday's meeting came after the two sides agreed on procedural rules for the negotiations, a development that broke the deadlock and created hope for the peace process that is seen as the only way forward to end the decades of conflicts in Afghanistan, TOLO News reprted.

So far, the details of the meetings have not been made public by the two sides, but both sides have expressed optimism about moving forward to finalize the agenda of the talks.

"It is expected that lists of demands from the two sides are prepared and that the talks will be conducted based on that agenda," said Ghulam Farooq Majroh, a member of the negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Amid the meetings, the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met Taliban deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Qatar and discussed the release of remaining prisoners and removing names from the backlist, according to a statement by the group.

Echoing a statement by the US Department of State, Khalilzad in a tweet called the meetings about the agenda crucial and reiterated that both sides must work to end war in the country.

"Afghans are coming together and taking steps to make progress toward peace. The Afghan people have been yearning for peace. The steps taken in recent days are positive and hopeful. I urge both sides to accelerate their peace efforts to end the country's long war," TOLO News quoted the envoy as further saying.

The peace negotiations in Doha started in September but direct negotiations were delayed due to disagreement on procedural rules.