US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has met Taliban political representatives in Qatar to discuss ways for the resumption of the stalled peace process, sources said on Saturday.
President Donald Trump abruptly called off the peace process with the Taliban in September, citing an attack in Kabul which killed an American soldier and 11 others including a Romanian soldier.
“We are working on an agreement now with the Taliban. Let’s see what happens,” Trump told Fox TV on Friday. “The last time I was supposed to have an agreement, they thought that when they came over it would be good to kill people so they could, you know, negotiate from a position of strength,” he said.
Trump’s remarks come days after Taliban freed an American and an Australian professor in exchange for the release of three Taliban leaders, including Anas Haqqani, brother of Taliban deputy chief Sirajud Din Haqqani. Taliban also released 10 Afghan soldiers on Friday.
Trump welcomed the prisoner swap deal and tweeted on Tuesday, “Let’s hope this leads to more good things on the peace front like a cease-fire that will help end this long war.”
The prisoner swap was considered as a major confidence building for the resumption of the peace process.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hoped that exchange of prisoners will help in the peace process. “We see these developments as hopeful signs that the Afghan war, a terrible and costly conflict that has lasted 40 years, may soon conclude through a political settlement,” Pompeo said.
Sources in Qatar told Daily Times that Khalilzad met Taliban representatives on Saturday and shared some suggestions to revive the dialogue process. “Both sides could not reach any agreement in the first session,” a source familiar with the latest round of meetings said. “Both sides will hold another round either on Sunday or Monday,” he said.
The source said Taliban officials reiterated their demand to sign the draft of the agreement finalized during the 9th round in August. “The US side renewed call for the ceasefire,” he said, adding both sides could not remove differences and will meet again.
Taliban have rejected repeated calls for ceasefire and Taliban officials said earlier that they would declare ceasefire on the day of the signing of the peace agreement. Khalilzad met the Taliban officials for the second time in Qatar this month in his efforts to restart the formal dialogue process.