Taliban to share results of internal talks with Khalilzad: Source

KABUL (TOLO News): Sources familiar with the peace talks said that the Taliban will share the results of their discussions about the reduction of violence with US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad over the next few days.

The source said Khalilzad has returned to Qatar and held an informal meeting with the Taliban’s deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

“Mullah Baradar Akhund and Mr. Khalilzad had an informal meeting yesterday (Sunday),” a journalist in Qatar, Sami Yusufzai, said. “What we found from the two sides today, so far, is that the Taliban has not given a clear response on the ceasefire.”

Khalilzad has reportedly asked the Taliban to agree on a temporary ceasefire ahead of the signing of a peace deal between the US and the Taliban, but sources from the group say they have agreed only on a reduction of violence so far.

“Consultations were done with the Taliban elders and the result is positive. This result will be shared with Mr. Khalilzad,” former Taliban member Jalaluddin Shinwari said.

“They will talk about the process involved in a reduction of violence, and the monitoring of this process and the agreement will be signed,” said Khalilzad Safi, a former head of Pugwash, an international research organization.

The office of Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said that Washington and Kabul have common views on the reduction of violence, counterterrorism assurances by the Taliban, the signing of the US-Taliban deal and intra-Afghan negotiations.

“There is an agreement on both sides on these issues. We are awaiting the Taliban’s clear response,” Abdullah’s spokesman Mujib Rahimi said.

The tenth round of talks, which began in early December last year, was paused after the Taliban attacked a health facility near a US forces base in Bagram district in the north of Kabul.