The contact groups from the Afghan government and Taliban negotiating teams held their first meeting on Sunday evening and discussed the agenda, guidelines, scheduling and other issues related to the direct peace negotiations, according to Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem.

The negotiating teams representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban held a meeting behind closed doors on Saturday after the opening ceremony of the intra-Afghan negotiations where they created the contact groups. 

Two negotiators on the team representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ghairat Bahir of Hizb-e-Islami and Fatima Gailani, an academic, did not travel to Doha for the opening ceremony on Saturday.

Baheer has been prevented by the Hizb-e-Islami head  Gulbuddin Hekmatyar from joining the delegation, says party members, while Gailani has not traveled to Doha for health reasons.