Attention has turned back to Doha and hopes have been renewed that the talks between both sides of the Afghan peace negotiations will resume, especially as--according to members of the Republic side--the Taliban in a recent meeting showed a "good spirit."
This comes after a meeting was held between heads and some members of the negotiating teams in Doha on Monday evening that was focused on the continuation of the negotiations.
No new meeting has been held between the two sides since Monday.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Omar Daudzai, President Ashraf Ghani’s special envoy for Pakistan, met senior Pakistani officials in Islamabad about the Afghan peace process.
“The Taliban came with a good spirit—we hope that this spirit remains the same—because they expressed a commitment for the talks to continue on a daily basis,” said Ghulam Farooq Majroh, a member of the negotiating team representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
“The emphasis of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan--as its working agenda-- has been focused on ending the war and agreeing on a ceasefire in order to help the Afghan people obtain a benefit from this process and feel its impacts on their lives,” said Fawzia Koofi, a member of the negotiating team representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in the talks with the Taliban.
The republic’s negotiators expressed hope that an agreement is reached with the Taliban soon about the agenda of the talks.
The Taliban continue to insist on the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, but a democratic senator has warned about a hasty pullout.
“The perspective about the Taliban has changed in Washington, and Pakistan also realizes this,” said Sami Yousufzai, a journalist.
“Previously, Pakistan was using the term 'reduction in violence,' but as a result of last night’s meeting, it was decided to use the term 'end of the violence,'” said Mohammad Omar Daudzai, president Ghani’s envoy for Pakistan.
A senior member of Pakistan's army has said that his country will not support the Taliban, reiterating that they only aim for enduring peace in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan now is not what it was in the 90s and the state infrastructure cannot be trounced easily, and Pakistan also has changed,” the director general of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said as quoted by The News International.
“It’s impossible for the Taliban to recapture Kabul and that Pakistan would support them. It isn’t going to happen,” he said over talks about foreign troops withdrawal from Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani said that the way had been paved for more serious peace talks with the Taliban.
The statement comes two days after a meeting was held between heads and some members of the negotiating teams in Doha and the meeting reportedly focused on the continuation of the negotiations.