Amid a breakthrough in Doha talks, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem on Friday said ceasefire will be on the agenda among other topics in the negotiations.
He said in a tweet that the agenda will be made in agreement of both sides.
“A ceasefire upon which the Afghan government insists and the establishment of an Islamic system that the Taliban urge could be there (at the talks),” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander.
This comes a day after the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said that he is heading back to the region to gather international support for the Afghan peace negotiations.
In the first leg of his trip, the US envoy landed in Ankara where he met senior Turkish officials on the current developments in the Afghan peace talks.
“The modality of the participation of the Taliban in the structure of Afghanistan’s power structure will be transferred to the next US administration,” said Shukria Barikzai, a former diplomat.
“The talks will enter a new phase very soon. Considering the demand of Afghan people for a calm, our priority is to reach a comprehensive ceasefire,” said Ghulam Farooq Majroh, a member of the republic’s peace negotiating team in Doha.
“We are in support of peace and ceasefire. We want an end to the war,” said Ghezal, a resident in Kabul.
Despite calls for a ceasefire inside and outside the country, violence continues to grip Afghans across Afghanistan.
In the latest incident of violence, at least three members of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) were killed and 19 civilians were wounded in a blast that targeted a security patrol in Gardez city.
“Reports by our intelligence agencies indicate that it was a remote-controlled car bomb that was detonated on a market,” said Mohammad Halim Fedaee, the governor of Paktia.
The Afghan government has accused the Taliban of killing 134 civilians and wounding 342 more over the past one month. But the Taliban has hit out over the allegations, saying the Afghan government forces have killed 68 civilians just in the past one week.
The breakthrough reached in Doha between the two sides was greeted positively in Afghanistan and within the international community.
The peace negotiations between teams from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban started on September 12; however, talks had been delayed because of disagreements over procedural rules.