After rejecting a Pakistani proposal for peace talks in Islamabad, the Taliban met with US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar, beginning a new round of talks on ending the Afghan War.
This didn’t just come after rejecting Pakistan’s proposal, which the
Taliban didn’t want to take part in because the Afghan government was
invited, but also just hours after the Taliban launched a major bombing
attack in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province, killing 126 security forces.
Reports are that the focus of the talks was on ending the war, with the
Taliban hoping to get a specific timeline for the withdrawal of US
troops. This is likely even a higher priority after US requests for
long-term bases threatened to derail the talks.
There have been talks that the US was hoping to have this deal wrapped
up around April or May, which is why the US wanted the Afghan government
to delay their election. This is doubly true because there were reports
the US was offering the Taliban positions within a new, interim Afghan
government.
Who if anyone in the ‘interim Afghan govt’ said yes to the Taliban having positions in the govt? Not relevant I suppose, just curious.