Sources from political parties and groups say the government has prepared a list of peace negotiators and has added the members of political parties without seeking any consultation on the matter.
The sources said the team has more than 10 members, but it has yet to get a nod by political parties and movements.
On his inauguration on March 9, President Ghani vowed to finalize the negotiation team by March 10, but the names of the delegates have yet to be made public.
“No one can sit down authoritatively with the Taliban (unilaterally) and defend the rights of the people,” the CEO of Jamiat-e-Islami, Atta Mohammad Noor, said at a gathering on Friday.
“The Presidential Palace has failed to create a political consensus for the leadership of the peace process, or to create a delegation,” said Fazl Hadi Wazin, member of Hizb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
The Presidential Palace has been insisting that the delegation will be inclusive and effective.
“The formation of the delegation is final --only one or two consultations are needed, and they will be final soon, and we are soon expecting to enter into negotiations,” said Latif Mahmoud, a presidential spokesman.
As part of the US-Taliban deal, up to 5,000 prisoners should have been released by March 10 to begin intra-Afghan negotiations, but in a decree released earlier Ghani vowed to release part of the prisoners – up to 1,500 – in the first phase that will begin on Saturday. But the Taliban, according to sources, have rejected this decree and have insisted on the release of up to 5,000 prisoners at once so that the long-awaited intra-Afghan negotiations are started.
“Taliban prisoners may be released-- if five thousand are not released in one day, some may be released gradually,” said Shahzada Massoud, a former advisor to former president Hamid Karzai.
Meanwhile, a six-member team sent by the government to Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 28, one day ahead of the US-Taliban deal signing ceremony, returned home on Thursday, according to a statement by the National Security Council. The delegation held meetings with the Indonesian foreign minister, and special representatives of Germany, US and UN.
The statement did not provide details, but has mentioned that the delegation will make another trip to Doha within the upcoming few days to move forward in the process.