Qatar to host next round of Intra-Afghan peace talks

SHAFAQNA- The next round of Intra-Afghan peace talks will be held in Qatar from next month, a top official said. “The second round of talks will begin on January 5 in Doha,” said Faraidoon Khwazoon, Spokesman for Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, which is leading the overall peace process in the country, on Sunday. “The leadership committee of the council … decided to hold the talks in Doha,” he tweeted, adding that many of the countries that had earlier volunteered to host the talks withdrew their offers because of COVID-19.

In a separate statement, the presidency tweeted that Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who head the council, held a meeting on Sunday. The two “discussed the venue for the next round of talks” after which Ghani announced the government’s support for a second stage of talks with the Taliban, the presidency said, according to AlJazeera reported.