The Taliban has reshuffled their key posts and ranks by appointing designated governors, deputy governors and heads of military commissions for 19 provinces, calling it a normal practice within their ranks, but the government and analysts say the move is a sign of preparations for the upcoming fighting season and that it shows the group’s “unwillingness” for peace efforts. 

The Taliban has appointed designated governors for 11 provinces, including Khost, Nangarhar, Paktia, Paktika, Kabul, Samangan, Kunduz, Takhar, Bamiyan, Laghman and Parwan, sources said. They have also appointed designated deputy governors for three provinces, commanders of military units for five provinces and heads of military commissions for at least seven provinces.  

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US top envoy for Afghan peace, on Saturday met with Taliban negotiators in Qatar -- for the first time under Biden administration -- and discussed the implementation of the Doha agreement and the reconciliation efforts, according to Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman of the group. 

But the Wall Street Journal has reported that the US envoy has proposed the idea of a grand conference of Afghan and Taliban leaders to create an interim government in Afghanistan.