Procedure of Inter-Afghan Talks Finalized; Negotiations to Begin on Agenda

The Afghan government – Taliban negotiation teams say the procedure of the talks, including its preamble has been finalized and negotiations on agenda will begin soon.
“The procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been finalized and from now on, the negotiation will begin on the agenda,” the negotiation team of the Afghan government twitted late Wednesday.

Naeem Wardak, a spokesman for the Taliban political office in Qatar, also said the negotiation teams show that there is willingness among Afghans to reach a sustainable peace.
“The plenary meeting was held between two intra-Afghan negotiation teams. In this meeting, a joint working committee was tasked to prepare the draft topics of the agenda,” he added.

In the past week, the Taliban announced that the entire procedure including the preface was completed and finalized. However, the government’s negotiation team later denied, saying 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 and clarification.