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Official: Afghan-Taliban Talks Would Need 'Maximum Flexibility' By Both Sides

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - A senior official in Afghanistan said Wednesday that a team
   of state representatives will begin formal peace negotiations with the
   Taliban in Qatar "early next week" to try to negotiate a political
   solution to the country's long war.

   Mustafa Mastoor, the Afghan Minister of Economy, said the peace process
   has "opened a new chapter of hope" in the war-torn country's history
   and both sides needs to seize it. He was speaking to an online forum
   arranged by a Pakistan-based think tank, the Lahore Center For Peace
   Research (LCPR).

   "Negotiations will hopefully start early next week. The Islamic
   Republic (of Afghanistan) side is fully prepared for a good and a
   positive start and expects the Taliban side to have the same
   intentions," said the Afghan minister.

   The much-awaited first ever formal peace talks between Afghan warring
   sides are a product of the agreement the U.S. signed with the Taliban
   in February to close the nearly 19-year-old war with the Islamist
   insurgency and withdraw American troops from the country.

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