ISLAMABAD -- A new round of talks between the U.S. and the Taliban began in Qatar on Saturday, just days after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington is hoping for an Afghan peace agreement before Sept. 1.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that negotiations had begun. The two sides sat down for the seventh time in a series of direct talks that began last year after the appointment of U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.
As in previous talks between Khalilzad and the Taliban, the focus is on the withdrawal of U.S. troops and on Taliban guarantees to prevent Afghanistan from again hosting militants who can stage global attacks. Both sides say they have come to an understanding on the withdrawal and the guarantees, but details have yet to be worked out.
The war in Afghanistan began in 2001 to unseat the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his followers, who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States while operating in Afghan territory. After nearly 18 years and billions of dollars spent by the U.S., the Taliban control or contest roughly half of Afghanistan's territory.
Pompeo said earlier this month that "real progress" had been made on a draft agreement with the Taliban to ensure "that Afghan soil never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists."
Khalilzad and Pompeo have said that agreements with the Taliban will come with understandings on an intra-Afghan dialogue and a permanent cease-fire.
It was expected that a timetable would be among the discussion points during the talks in Doha, Qatar.
The Taliban's negotiating team has been led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who co-founded the Taliban movement with its leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. Omar ruled with an iron fist, imposing a strict brand of Islam.
Omar died several years ago. Baradar was held in a Pakistani jail from 2010 until his release earlier this year.
The Taliban have refused to meet directly with President Ashraf Ghani's government but have held talks with a collection of Afghan personalities from Kabul, including former President Hamid Karzai, several prominent opposition leaders and government peace council members.
The Taliban say that until an agreement with the U.S. is finalized, they will meet with Afghan government officials only as ordinary Afghans and not as representatives of the government. They say the U.S. is the final arbiter of troop withdrawal.
Meanwhile, the Taliban have refused a cease-fire. Taliban officials say they won't agree to a truce until a troop-withdrawal agreement is in place.
Also on Saturday, Afghan authorities accused the Taliban of killing at least 25 pro-government forces in northern Baghlan province.
District chief Fazeluddin Muradi said the insurgents' attack wounded at least eight pro-government fighters during several hours of battle late Friday in the area of Nahrin.
A police official, who was not authorized to speak on the issue, confirmed the death toll.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press.
A Section on 06/30/2019