US and Taliban officials resume peace talks in Qatar, while the Afghan government hosts a rare assembly in Kabul to ensure its interests are upheld in any future deal
Taliban spokesman says the group's top political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the men discussed"key aspects for a peaceful resolution of the Afghan issue."
The latest negotiations come as pressure builds for some sort of breakthrough in the gruelling Afghan conflict, with Washington jostling for a resolution. On Sunday, the Afghan-born envoy said Washington was "a bit impatient" to end the war, given its $45 billion annual cost to US taxpayers and the continued toll on US forces, some 2,400 of whom have been killed since the US-led invasion in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
An initial attempt for an "intra-Afghan dialogue" – due to take place last month in Doha – collapsed at the last minute amid bickering over the lengthy list of delegates Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wanted to send.Separately, thousands of Afghan politicians and representatives are meeting in Kabul this week at a "loya jirga" peace summit to discuss conditions under which they could envision a deal with the Taliban.
"The jirga sets a logical beginning for the peace process," Daudzai told reporters. "The people in the jirga will decide and set boundaries and the framework of talks."
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