Afghanistan- Khalilzad Asks Taliban to Put Down Arms, Reconcile as Crucial Talks Begins

(MENAFN- Daily Outlook Afghanistan) KABUL - US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Process Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban held the fresh round to talks in Doha, the capital of Qatar on Thursday, according to media reports.
Khalilzad on his social media account wrote: 'In our opening session, I underscored to the Talibs that the Afghan people, who are their brothers & sisters, want this war to end. It is time to put down arms, stop the violence, & embrace peace.
'Peace will require that we find common-ground on four inter-connected issues: troop withdrawal, counter-terrorism assurances, intra-Afghan dialogue & negotiations, and reduction in violence leading to a comprehensive ceasefire. Nothing will be final until we agree on all 4 issues, he said.
Ahead of the talks, Qatar state run news agency reported that the two parties will discuss the four components of the framework agreement, which was agreed upon in the last two rounds of talks, which are: foreign troop withdrawal, guarantees that will prevent the use of Afghanistan soil by any groups or individuals against the security of the United States or any other country, intra-afghan dialogue and negotiations, and reduction in violence leading to a comprehensive ceasefire.
Qatar, which acts as the mediator in this conflict, welcomed the current round of talks between the United States and the Taliban and considered this round of an important development to achieve peace in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the State of Qatar hopes that these rounds of talks will achieve the desired results to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan, it says.
In response to Khalilzad's comments, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the US envoy should never think that the Taliban would put down their weapons.
He urged the US to accept reality, avoid the use of force and support to the fragile government in Kabul.
He also asked Khalilzad to stop the repetition of failed strategies because it would yiled no result and stressed the US envoy should acknowledged reality instead of being involved in confusion. (Pajhwok)

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