Daily Times

Representatives of the Taliban and Afghan government have finalized a code of conduct for intra-Afghan negotiations after over two-month discussions, the Taliban spokesman Dr Mohammad Naeem said on Saturday.

Both sides had opened talks in Qatar on Sept. 12 but failed to reach an agreement on the working principles as the Taliban insisted the Doha agreement must serve as the basis for the talks. But the Afghan government team opposed the proposal and argued that Kabul was not part of the agreement and both sides should hold talks on their own terms.

“The negotiation teams had finalized a 21-point code of conduct for negotiations on Nov 15. The code of conduct was read out in the presence of the host country (Qatar) on Nov 17 in Pashto and Dari languages. A copy was handed over to the host country after approval by both negotiation sides,” the Taliban spokesman said in a video message.

The government team has also issued a statement about the progress. Nader Nadery, a member of the government team, said late Saturday that the negotiation teams of both sides have only agreed in principle to the 21 articles of the rules and procedures, with the exception of the introduction because it requires further discussion & clarification.

“Therefore in the joint meeting on Nov 17, 2020 in the presence of the host country, it was decided that the rules and procedures will only be considered final once it is presented to the general meeting of both delegations & approved there,” Nadery tweeted. He said the government team has shared its understanding of the elements of the introduction with the other side.

The Taliban had insisted that the Doha agreement must serve as the basis for the talks as it was also endorsed by the United Nations and all stakeholders. The Afghan government team had initially opposed the proposal and argued that Kabul was not part of the agreement.