KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban officials said on Thursday they had dispatched a delegation to meet American representatives in Qatar for possible talks to end the insurgents’ fight against the Afghan government.
A senior Taliban leader based in Afghanistan told Stars and Stripes that their representatives had gone to Qatar to discuss peace negotiations with the Americans, nearly two years after the collapse of the last attempt to broker a peace deal.
The timing is right, he said, for peace talks now that the NATO-led coalition has formally ended its combat mission in Afghanistan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the possible talks but would not provide further details.
The Reuters news agency quoted a senior member of the Afghan Taliban reached in Qatar as saying the first negotiation session would occur Thursday, followed by a second on Friday.
Representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In June 2013, the Taliban, which claims to be the legitimate government of Afghanistan, opened an office in Qatar, a move that was heralded as a step toward peace talks. But the office was closed after only a month when then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai complained that it was an affront to his government.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Afghan government officials also planned to meet with the Taliban at an undetermined location.
Many observers see peace talks as an integral part of any resolution to the conflict, which has shown no signs of abating despite more than a decade of international intervention. But the continuing violence, as well as the long history of conflict between various groups in Afghanistan have undermined efforts to open talks so far.
Despite the declared end to NATO’s combat mission, fighting still continues between government forces, which are supported by foreign troops, and the Taliban.
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