TASHKENT (TCA) — A delegation of the Taliban led by the head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar visited Uzbekistan from August 6-10 for talks with senior officials from Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry, Taliban and Uzbek officials said.
The talks focused on a range of issues, including the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan and Uzbek development projects in Afghanistan, a Taliban official said in a statement to RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal.
“The Afghan peace process, withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, and restoration of peace were also brought under discussion,” the Taliban statement said.
The statement said Taliban political chief Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai represented the militant group in the four-day talks that, according to the Taliban, included meetings with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov as well as its special representative to Afghanistan, Ismatilla Irgashev.
The Uzbek Foreign Ministry’s website offered a two-line announcement on the visit saying “the sides exchanged views on prospects of the peace process in Afghanistan.”
There was no immediate reaction from Afghan officials.
The Afghan government has been struggling to fend off the Taliban and other militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014.
The Taliban has ignored an offer by the Afghan government for direct peace negotiations, saying that the Kabul government is a “puppet” of the West.
In recent years Uzbekistan has taken steps to increase its role in Afghanistan peace process, as well as to boost trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
