Disagreements between the Taliban and the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on issues around a permanent ceasefire and the modality of American forces withdrawal from Afghanistan are prolonging the negotiations in Doha, Qatar, sources familiar with the process said on Thursday.

This is at a time that critics say ordinary Afghans and the political leadership are impatiently waiting to see what comes out of months of negotiations between the two sides.

However, the talks between the two sides were initially expected to be wrapped up on Tuesday, but a Taliban spokesman in Doha Suhail Shaheen who is also part of the process said in a tweet that the negotiations will end by the end of Thursday.

Sources said Mr. Khalilzad will travel to Kabul brief the Afghan politicians and leaders on the outcomes of the talks with the Taliban.

“Mullah Baradar was also present in the talks with Khalilzad,” Mr. Shaheen in a tweet.

“The main issue is around a ceasefire. The Americans insist that the Taliban should agree on a permanent ceasefire after sealing an agreement with the US. But the Taliban argue that if we announce a ceasefire, [President] Ashraf Ghani will hold the election. The Taliban want the [presidential] election to be delayed and instead, an interim government should be formed and then they will announce a ceasefire with the interim government,” said Saleh Registani, an expert familiar with the talks.

“At first it was agreed that an agreement will be signed between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the US government, but now it looks that the US wants to deal with the Taliban movement instead of an Islamic emirate,” said Faiz Mohammad Zaland, an analyst familiar with the talks.

According to the sources, the text of the draft agreement has been finalized in Dari, Pashto and English, however, no final decision has been made that which one will be used as the main text.

However, Mawlawi Qalamuddin, a former Taliban member who lives in Kabul expressed his skepticism on a soon-to-come agreement because according to him, the situation is more complex than it seems.

“Who guarantees that Afghanistan will remain a non-conflict zone? Who guarantees that interference here [in Afghanistan] will be stopped so that we come out of the war. This is a very important issue. It cannot be addressed in one or two months; it can take one year or two years to sort it out,” Mr. Qalamuddin told TOLOnews.

This comes as AFP reported on Thursday that US President Donald Trump says the United States will keep 8,600 troops in Afghanistan after a peace agreement with the Taliban.