Qatar Presses Warring Afghans to Involve 'Formal Mediator' to Negotiate Peace
Voice of America
ISLAMABAD - Qatar says it has formally proposed to warring sides in Afghanistan to agree to a third-party mediation for moving their stalled peace negotiations forward and reaching a power-sharing arrangement before U.S.-led foreign troops complete their exit from the country by a September 11 deadline.
The proposal comes ahead of Friday’s crucial meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his chief peacemaker, Abdullah Abdullah, at the White House. Biden is expected to encourage all Afghan parties to “meaningfully” negotiate an end to their country’s long conflict. Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani, the special Qatari envoy for counterterrorism and mediation of conflict resolution, said his government shared the mediation proposal last week with representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban insurgency. He made the remarks during an international seminar this week in Qatar’s capital, Doha. The two Afghan adversaries have been holding peace negotiations in Doha since last September with the host government, among others, playing the role of a facilitator. But the process has made no significant headway, with each negotiating team blaming the other for the deadlock.FILE - A child kicks a football in front of a mural of the country's first Black president and leader of the ruling African National Congress Nelson Mandela, in Soweto, South Africa, as the country celebrates Freedom Day, on April 27, 2024. FILE - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, center, dances to music as he attends Freedom Day celebrations in Pretoria, South Africa, on April 27, 2024. FILE - Main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party leader John Steenhuisen waves to supporters in Pretoria, South Africa, on Feb. 17, 2024, at the party's manifesto launch ahead of the 2024 general elections. FILE - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema at the party's manifesto launch in Durban, South Africa, on Feb. 10, 2024. FILE - Former South African president, Jacob Zuma, sings and dances after addressing his supporters of the UMkhonto WeSizwe, (MK) party outside the High court in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 11, 2024.
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