DHAKA: An Afghan government delegation due to meet Taliban representatives for a second round of official peace talks next week will press for a cease-fire in the fighting.

A negotiator said Saturday, reports TDS.

Any temporary reduction in attacks would represent a breakthrough and boost the legitimacy of the budding peace process aimed at ending the 13-year-old war that kills hundreds of Afghans each month.

However, it is unclear whether the Taliban, who have been on the offensive in several parts of the country this year and inflicting record casualties, would agree.

It’s also uncertain any cease-fire would be enforceable, since the insurgents’ leaders are divided on negotiating.

Mohammad Nateqi, an Afghan government negotiator who attended the first official talks in Pakistan earlier this month, said the subject of a cease-fire was broached then but it was decided to resume discussions at the next round.

‘We will ask for a complete cease-fire and hope that the other side agrees,’ Nateqi said.

‘A cease-fire will give our people hope that these talks will bear good results.’

He said the government side would press the issue in the next talks, tentatively set for July 30 in China. Beijing is increasingly worried about insurgency in the region spilling over into its territory and has been playing a role to broker a peace deal between Kabul and the Taliban.

Nateqi said Taliban negotiators this time will also include representatives from its top leadership, known as the Quetta Shura, and its political office based in Qatari city of Doha.

BDST: 2046 HRS, JULY 25, 2015
RR