Germany, Qatar to host intra-Afghan dialogue: US peace envoy Khalilzad

Kabul: Germany and Qatar will host the intra-Afghan dialogue conference from July 7 and 8, announced US special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.

"I want to thank Germany [and] Qatar for agreeing to host the upcoming July 7-8 intra-Afghan Dialogue Conference. This dialogue is an essential element of the four-part peace framework [and] an important step in advancing the Afghan Peace Process," Khalilzad tweeted on Monday.

 

I want to thank #Germany & #Qatar for agreeing to host the upcoming July 7-8 intra-Afghan Dialogue Conference. This dialogue is an essential element of the four-part peace framework & an important step in advancing the #AfghanPeaceProcess.

— U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) July 1, 2019

 

However, the Taliban has refused to negotiate with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani government.

"We will begin the talks to the Afghan sides, but we will not talk to the Kabul administration as a government," Al Jazeera quoted Taliban spokesperson in Qatar Suhail Shaheen as saying.

This comes hours after a coordinated attack by Taliban rocked the city of Kabul in which at least 68 people suffered injuries.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said in a statement that the Taliban militants launched a complex attack by detonating a car bomb close to Gulbahar Township in 16th district of Kabul city at 9 am, reported Khamma Press.

The statement further added that a group of armed militants took a position inside one of the buildings in Gulbahar Township following the explosion. The militants started opening fire on people and the defence ministry installations.

However, the interior ministry said the Afghan forces quickly reacted to the attack and launched an operation to eliminate the militants involved in the attack.

"Once the timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces is set in the presence of international observers, then we will begin the talks to the Afghan sides, but we will not talk to the Kabul administration as a government," tweeted Suhail Shaheen, the spokesman of the Taliban's office in Qatar.

Last year, Trump vowed that the US will soon see its troops in Afghanistan halved to 8,000 soldiers.

But he said the US will "be leaving very strong intelligence, far more than you would normally think," in an interview with the Fox News Channel's "Tucker Carlson Tonight.