Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen on Sunday said that the Taliban would give a safe passage to the foreign forces after signing of the peace agreement.
Shaheen said the talks with the US continued on the second day on Sunday and would continue on Monday. He did not offer more details about the discussion on the second day.
He tweeted that all US and other foreign forces would quit Afghanistan and the Taliban would not attack them.
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad restarted talks with the Taliban in Qatar on Saturday after three month’s suspension.
President Donald Trump abruptly called off the peace process with the Taliban in September, citing an attack in Kabul which killed an American soldier and 11 others including a Romanian soldier.
Shaheen said earlier that the talks started from where they were stopped and both sides discussed signing of the peace agreement that was finalized in August.
Head of the Taliban political office Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar led the Taliban team on Saturday and Anas Haqqani, brother of the Taliban deputy chief Siraj ud Din Haqqani, who was freed recently in a prisoner swap deal, also joined the talks as member of the negotiation team.
Taliban sources said Baradar did not attend the Sunday’s talks.
The formal talks started following a series of statements by President Trump regarding resumption of the negotiations to end the conflict in Afghanistan. “We are working on an agreement now with the Taliban. Let’s see what happens,” Trump told Fox TV last month.
Trump also told American troops at Bagram air base last week that the Taliban want a deal and also agree to a ceasefire.
However, the Taliban have refused so far to declare ceasefire. Taliban sources say their political representatives on Saturday reiterated their demand to sign the draft of the agreement finalized during the 9th round in August.
US sources familiar with the Saturday talks say that the side pressed for reduction of violence as a confidence building measure that will pave the way for ceasefire and intra Afghan dialogue.8
In Kabul President Ghani’s Special Envoy for Regional Consensus on Peace Umer Daudzai laughed at Khalilzad’s quest only for reduction in violence.
“I am puzzled with Mr. Khalilzad’s #US4AfghanPeace aim of reducing violence. Does it mean from 100 casualties per day to 90?” Daudzai tweeted.
Kabul has now attached a condition of a month ceasefire for direct talks with the Taliban. The Taliban have so far declined to talk to the Afghan government, considering it powerless and a US puppet.
Shaheen said that intra-Afghan dialogue would start after signing of the peace deal with the US that would discuss ceasefire with the Afghan forces.
The US will withdraw troops from Afghanistan after signing the peace deal and the Taliban will ensure Afghan soil is not used against the US, its allies and any other country, according to the Taliban. The US currently has nearly 13000 troops and American officials have indicated the number could be reduced to 8600.
