KABUL (TCA) — As part of their efforts to support the peace process in Afghanistan, Germany and Qatar will convene an Intra-Afghan Dialogue Conference to be held in Doha on July 7 and 8, Germany’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Markus Potzel, said in a statement on July 2, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported.
“Afghanistan stands at a critical moment of opportunity for progress towards peace,” Potzel said, adding that “an essential component of any process leading to this objective will be a direct engagement between Afghans.”
“Only Afghans themselves can decide the future of their country. An Intra-Afghan Dialogue can help clarify the options and opportunities of such direct engagement,” he added.
Germany and Qatar hope that this event will contribute to trust-building among key stakeholders, representing a wide spectrum of the Afghan people and society, and thus foster peace and stability in Afghanistan and the wider region.
Meanwhile, US envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad in a tweet on Monday night thanked Germany and Qatar for hosting the July 7-8 intra-Afghan Dialogue Conference and said that this dialogue is an essential element of the four-part peace framework and an important step in advancing the Afghan peace process.
An earlier attempt at intra-Afghan dialogue in Qatar failed in April due to disagreements over who would participate, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan reported.
The Taliban, which is demanding that foreign forces leave Afghanistan while the United States is seeking guarantees that the country will not be used as a staging ground for attacks elsewhere, has said it will not negotiate with the Afghan government until foreign forces have been withdrawn.
