Afghan government has finalized list of participants for dialogue with the Taliban, which China expects to host in Beijing, an official said Thursday.
“Afghan government will attend Beijing conference, a list (of participants) has been finalized,” said Waheed Omar, the president’s senior adviser for strategic affairs.
Omar said there had been consultations over the list, saying the delegation was small, but inclusive that could represent all groups of Afghan society.
US President Donald Trump halted in September year-long talks with the Taliban aimed at bringing its longest war to an end. The president cited a deadly attack in Kabul in announcing the decision.
The talks excluded Afghan government as the Taliban refused to deal directly with it.
President Ashraf Ghani released a seven-point peace plan last month that involved ceasefire before negotiations with the Taliban begin.
Omar said that ceasefire is expected to show if the Taliban really want peace.
He said that the government wants to be at the center of peace talks because it is its armed forces whom the Talban are fighting.
“Taliban want us to enter into talks with it as representatives of tribes, political parties while itself enter as a government and emirate, but our emphasis is that talks should not take place with that humiliation,” Omar said.
