Negotiations Between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban
At the beginning of July 2015, Pakistan hosted a meeting of representatives of the Afghan Government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan, as part of the commitments to support the Afghan peace and reconciliation process headed by Afghanistan. The meeting was held in a historical township of Murree, near Islamabad. China and the US representatives were present at the meeting as observers.
Unlike the meetings that had taken place earlier, the participants of the first round of the negotiations were vested with authorities (according to the statement of the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan). Islamabad christened them as “groundbreaking.” Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry acted at the meeting in the power of a mediator. Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzaiheaded the Afghan delegation that was comprised of the representatives of the High Peace Council, advisers to the Afghan Presidentand the Chief Executive. In other words, all major political groups were represented at the meeting.
The Delegation of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (three persons, whose names had not been disclosed for a long time) was represented by its Qatar office and political Pakistan-based Shura. Some time later, the Pakistani press published information thatMaulvi Jalil, Qari Din Muhammad and others were representing the interests of Talibs at the meeting; however, these names were not officially confirmed. The composition of the delegation testified to the Talibs’ aspiration to preserve an interrelation between various groups of militants acting in the territory of Afghanistan as well as beyond the borders of the country.
