Afghan Taliban says they opened their political office in Qatar in 2013 after a series of consultations with the United States. The statement came days after The Guardian reported that US President Donald Trump is pushing Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to close a Taliban mission in Qatar. The Taliban angrily reacted to the reports that Trump and the beleaguered Afghan president were now pressing for the closure of the office.
The office was closed in 2013 over objections by then President Hamid Karzai, who would always call for a specific Taliban address for contacts. Karzai was critical at the Taliban use of their white flag and plaque of the Islamic Emirate, the name they had used during 1996-2001 rule of Afghanistan. Despite closure of the office, the Taliban political envoys are still based in Qatar for contact with UN and other international institutions for political and humanitarian issues.
Hizb-e-Islami Chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has reportedly opposed closure of the office and said the current environment was suitable for the peace negotiations. Hekmatyar returned to Kabul in May this year after nearly 20 years following his peace deal with the government.
Qatari senior counterterrorism adviser Mutlaq al Qahtani told Qatari Channel Al Jazeera in June that Qatar hosted the Taliban "by request by the US government" and as part of Qatar's "open-door policy, to facilitate talks, to mediate and to bring peace".
The Taliban statement said the movement's leadership had tasked political negotiators with working towards finding a peaceful resolution to the Afghan problem. "If they are to meet delegations from other countries, the sole agenda will be peace and explaining the policy of Taliban in this regard."
The main parties are the Afghan government and its High Peace Council, the US and the Taliban. The Taliban have also sent their representatives to conferences on Afghanistan in Germany, Japan, and France but if talks proceed this would be the first time the group has met Afghan government representatives for direct talks.
Obstacles
Within hours of the Taliban office opening Hamid Karzai raised his concerns about the peace process not being Afghan-led. He suspended plans for Afghan officials to meet the Taliban in Qatar, underlining how fraught the process will be.
His concerns were so great that US Secretary of State John Kerry had to promise that the Taliban flag and their sign reading The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would be removed. The flag remains, albeit on a shorter flagpole.
The first is that the Taliban insist on the complete withdrawal of foreign forces as a pre-condition to becoming part of a political settlement.
NATO's combat troops are due to leave the country by the end of 2014, but the US plans to station forces after that as part of a bilateral security agreement. Details are still to be agreed by Kabul and Washington.
The shape of the future Afghan government is another issue over which the parties disagree.
Another possible obstacle comes from civil groups and women's rights activists who fear a political settlement resulting in the Taliban's inclusion in the Afghan government would mean limitations on their freedoms.
Role of Pakistan in Peace process with Taliban
Pakistan was one of the Taliban's main supporters from when it was launched in Kandahar in 1994 until the fall of the regime in 2001. Most of the Taliban's leaders reportedly then fled to Pakistan.
Taliban representatives reportedly went to Qatar from Pakistan and the group is still considered to be heavily dependent on the support of certain elements in the country - although this has its limits.
Pakistan's co-operation will probably prove critical to convince or pressurise the Taliban to reach a political settlement. So, talks are as much between Afghanistan and Pakistan as they are between the Afghan government and the Taliban.