The Presidential Palace said on Wednesday that discussions are ongoing to finalize the list of delegates for the intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban.

President Ghani in his inauguration ceremony pledged that he would finalize the delegate list by Tuesday.

Seddiq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Palace, said that consultations are ongoing to finalize the delegates list.

“It is not finalized yet because of some consultations. We hope that the elders share their advice to finalize the list,” said Seddiqi.

The US wants the delegation to be inclusive.

“We are aware that work is ongoing on a list, consultations should be done with all the elders. The problems in government have slowed down the speed of government affairs. I am optimistic that this work (consultation) will be done,” said Zalmay Khalilzad, US special envoy for Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, political parties say that they were not advised about the delegation.

“No discussions were held with politicians about the delegation,” said Abdullah Qarloq, deputy head of Junbish-i-Milli Islami party

“If we elect some figures to have a key role in the process, we have in fact helped democratic achievements,” said Nahid Farid, a member of the Wolesi Jirga.

On the other hand, sources close to the Taliban said that the group will not talk to a government-led delegation.

“I do not think that the Taliban will participate in negotiations if most of its members are from the government. They will not talk to a government-led team,” said Khalil Safi, former head of Pugwash in Afghanistan.

Based on the Taliban-US deal, intra-Afghan talks should have been started yesterday but were delayed because of the issues over the timing of the Taliban prisoner release. 

 According to close sources to the Taliban, if the 5,000 Taliban prisoners of the Taliban were released, the intra-Afghan talks would start within 10 days.