DOHA: Qatar sponsored talks between Taliban and Afghan political figures continued on second day as well but there is no any significant development reported.
Participants in the meeting in Al-Khor emerged from the venue smiling and laughing on Sunday, but they refused to talk to reporters.
The Qatar meeting was the first sign of life in weeks for the hoped-for peace process to end the more than 13-year-old war between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Afghan government.
Many initiatives in past have failed over the years to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of Afghans since the U.S. and its allies drove the Taliban regime from power in 2001.
The Afghan government has made no official statement on the meetings, though a member of the country’s High Peace Council confirmed a delegation would attend meetings in Qatar with the Taliban.
The Taliban’s official spokesman has denied any peace talks, saying representatives were only attending a world affairs forum organised by Pugwash Council, a global organisation that promotes conflict resolution.
But Qatar’s foreign ministry later announced it was holding “open discussions” involving the Taliban and Afghan figures aiming to bring reconciliation. It was not immediately clear if the two events were one and the same.
Talking to media persons, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said“Pakistan fully supports peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in Qatar,”.
