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Afghan Rivals Talk Peace as Battlefield Attacks Continue

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Warring sides in Afghanistan have accused each other of
   staging fresh battlefield attacks as their representatives held a
   second day of historic, U.S.-brokered peace talks Sunday away from home
   in Qatar.
   Clashes between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents during
   the past 24 hours reportedly killed scores of people, including
   combatants from both sides and civilians.
   The violence remains a major challenge for the long-awaited dialogue
   ongoing in the Qatari capital of Doha, involving the high-powered
   negotiating teams of the Taliban and the Kabul government.
   Cease-fire, permanent end to war

   U.S. officials have said the discussions between the Afghan rivals
   would focus on seeking a "comprehensive cease-fire" and a political
   deal aimed at permanently ending four decades of hostilities in the
   South Asian nation.
   The talks, officially known as intra-Afghan negotiations, began
   Saturday just hours after a high-profile opening ceremony in Doha that
   was attended by, among others, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
   Visiting Afghan government delegates said Sunday "there was a positive
   spirit" in the preliminary interaction between the two negotiating
   teams.
   "Violence should be reduced significantly with the start of the
   negotiations so that we reach a humanitarian cease-fire," Abdullah
   Abdullah, the chairman of Afghanistan's High Council for National
   Reconciliation, told reporters in the Qatari capital.
   Abdullah traveled to Doha with the government peace negotiating team to
   represent Kabul at Saturday's inauguration ceremony.

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