Raja Furqan Ahmed
Doha: Taliban political spokesman Mohammad Naeem, said that negotiators from both sides on November 15 agreed on procedural rules with 21 items for the intra-Afghan talks and a copy was also delivered to the host nation.
In his tweet, he stated: “The procedure of Intra-Afghan negotiations between the negotiating teams was completed and finalized in 21 articles on the 15th of November 2020.”
“A copy of it was handed over to the host/facilitator country after it was approved by both negotiating teams,” he added.
Nader Nadery, a member of the government team, also said in his tweet that: “The negotiation teams of both sides have ONLY agreed in principle to the 21 articles of the rules and procedures, with the exception of the introduction because it requires further discussion & clarification.” He further added: “Therefore in the joint meeting on Nov 17, 2020, in the presence of the host country, it was decided that the rules and procedures will only be considered final once it is presented to the general meeting of both delegations & approved there. The IRoA has shared our understanding of the elements of the introduction with the other side.”
This comes as both sides had opened talks in Qatar on September 12 but failed to reach an agreement as the Taliban insisted the Doha agreement must serve as the basis for the talks. But the Afghan government team opposed the proposal and argued that Kabul was not part of the agreement.
“A copy of it was handed over to the host/facilitator country after it was approved by both negotiating teams,” he added.
Nader Nadery, a member of the government team, also said in his tweet that: “The negotiation teams of both sides have ONLY agreed in principle to the 21 articles of the rules and procedures, with the exception of the introduction because it requires further discussion & clarification.” He further added: “Therefore in the joint meeting on Nov 17, 2020, in the presence of the host country, it was decided that the rules and procedures will only be considered final once it is presented to the general meeting of both delegations & approved there. The IRoA has shared our understanding of the elements of the introduction with the other side.”
This comes as both sides had opened talks in Qatar on September 12 but failed to reach an agreement as the Taliban insisted the Doha agreement must serve as the basis for the talks. But the Afghan government team opposed the proposal and argued that Kabul was not part of the agreement.