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Taliban Wants 'Islamic System' of Government as Focal Point of Afghan Talks

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Delegates of Afghanistan's government and the Taliban
   continue finalizing "rules of negotiations" for a power-sharing deal a
   week after the two foes launched their historic U.S.-brokered direct
   peace dialogue.
   Meanwhile, battlefield hostilities between Afghan forces and Taliban
   insurgents continued to inflict heavy casualties on both sides and
   deepen a mutual trust deficit at the negotiating table.
   The insurgents have rejected calls for a cease-fire until they
   negotiate a broader political deal over the future of Afghanistan in
   the ongoing dialogue being hosted by Qatar.
   The two negotiating teams have held daily meetings but have shared few
   details about the intra-Afghan dialogue that began September 12 in
   Doha, the Qatari capital.

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