Collapse of peace talks with Taliban leaves US reeling

The US special envoy for peace in Afghanistan is “disappointed” over the collapse of a peace talks even before they started between the Taliban and Afghan politicians in Qatar.

A delegation of 250 Afghan politicians and civil society figures had been scheduled to meet Taliban officials in Doha at the weekend.

The meeting, however, was cancelled on Thursday amid arguments over the size and status of the group.

The Taliban derided the agreed list of participants as a "wedding party". Some senior opposition figures who had been included refused to attend.

"I'm disappointed Qatar's intra-Afghan initiative has been delayed," US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Twitter.

"I urge all sides to seize the moment and put things back on track by agreeing to a participant list that speaks for all Afghans."

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office reacted to the cancellation of the meeting, blaming the Qatari official.

It said authorities in Doha had authorized a list of participants that differed from the one proposed by Kabul, "which meant disrespect for the national will of the Afghans.”

"This act is not acceptable for the people of Afghanistan," it said in a statement on Friday.

The collapsed meeting was intended to prepare the ground for possible future talks by building familiarity among Taliban officials and representatives of the Afghan government.

Director of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in Qatar Sultan Barakat also said that there was no disagreement about the agenda.

SS