The venue for a potential peace negotiation between an Afghan delegation and the Taliban is yet to be finalized, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

This comes hours after the Taliban launched a massive car bomb attack on the nation’s capital Kabul, killing at least 14 people and wounding 145 others, including women and children.

Reports in July indicated that the negotiations will be held in Oslo.

“Oslo is one of the venues where the meeting can be held. But countries in the region such as Uzbekistan and Indonesia have also shown willingness [for hosting such a meeting],” the Foreign Ministery’s spokesman Sibghatullah Ahmadi said.

Sources familiar with the talks said that Taliban’s most senior peace negotiator in Qatar, Mullah Baradar, accompanied by several other members from the insurgent group has departed for Uzbekistan where he will attend a meeting on the Afghan peace process in Samarkand.

“Regarding Mullah Baradar Akhund at the scene, he is not at the talks, though he is there with his colleagues and there is a possibility that the issue of intra-Afghan talks is also raised there in Uzbekistan,” said former Taliban commander Sayed Akbar Agha.

This new development takes place at a time that the Afghan government last month confirmed the formation of a 15-member peace negotiating after a series of discussions and consultations with all sides involved in the process inside and outside the country.

“We hope that the announcement of the details and the mechanism which will lead to a sustainable ceasefire and the start of peace talks will not take too long,” the High Peace Council member Assadullah Zaeeri.

Since his appointment as the US Special Representative on Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, has held eight round of talks with the Taliban in Doha.

Mr. Khalilzad on Tuesday said he had made “excellent progress” in his talks with the Taliban in Doha over the last few days.

“My team and Taliban representatives will continue to discuss technical details as well as steps and mechanisms required for a successful implementation of the four-part agreement we’ve been working toward since my appointment,” Mr. Khalilzad said.

Setting out a timeline for the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan apparently dominated the agenda of the eighth round of talks between the US and the Taliban. 

Mr. Khalilzad in a tweet on Wednesday condemned Taliban attack in Kabul and said: “the focus should be on immediately reducing violence as we move closer to intra-Afghan negotiations that will produce a political roadmap and a permanent ceasefire”.