DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Afghan and Taliban officials will hold two
days of "reconciliation" talks in Qatar, the Gulf nation's state
news agency reported Saturday, although both sides sought to
downplay expectations from the meeting.
QNA did not identify the officials taking part in the talks,
which it said began Saturday, citing Foreign Ministry official
Yousif Al Sada.
"The dialogue will be through open discussions about the
Afghan reconciliation between all parties in Afghanistan," the
agency said.
In a statement, the Taliban earlier identified eight people
they said would take part in the talks on their behalf. However,
they said the discussions "should not be misconstrued as peace
or negotiation talks."
"It is worth mentioning that all participants of this
conference attend in an individual capacity, no one participates
as representatives for any government or party," the statement
said. "Since this is a research conference, therefore, every
participant gives their opinion on a range of issues."
Afghan presidential spokesman Ajmal Abidy said members of the
country's High Peace Council would attend the talks in Doha in
their "personal capacity only."
"They will meet face to face," Abidy told The Associated
Press. "Nothing is going on. We have no expectations."
Previous efforts to launch peace talks have failed. In 2013,
the Taliban opened an office in Qatar for the "Islamic Emirate
of Afghanistan." It also hoisted the same white flag flown
during the Taliban's five-year rule of Afghanistan that ended
with the 2001 American-led invasion. The raising of the flag
sparked immediate outrage from then-President Hamid Karzai and
the U.S., derailing talks and eventually leading the Taliban to
shutter the office.
While the office never opened, Qatar has become a place to
open back-channel communication with the Taliban. Qatari
intermediaries helped U.S. officials negotiate for the release
of captive U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last year, American
officials have said.
Current Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, elected last year, has
pushed for peace talks with the Taliban.