Taliban announces meeting with US officials in Qatar

AFP  |  Kabul 

The said it met with US officials in on Monday, in the latest round of talks between the insurgents and aimed at bringing an end to the 17-year war.

The US has not officially commented on the reported meeting, which follows the last confirmed talks between the two parties in the UAE in December.

"Following American acceptance of the agenda of ending the occupation of and preventing from being used against other countries in the future, talks with American representatives took place today in Doha, the capital of Qatar," said in a statement.

The announcement comes a day after US left where he had met with Imran Khan, who arrived in for an official visit Monday.

Khalilzad's has held a flurry of meetings around the region, including in last week, to garner support for the burgeoning dialogue.

representatives have met several times with US officials in recent months, but last week threatened to suspend the fledgling process, lambasting for changing the agenda of the talks and "unilaterally" adding new subjects.

The insurgents have long refused to hold direct talks with the government -- despite US pleas -- which the Taliban dismisses as a puppet of

US officials said in December that intends to withdraw as many as half of the 14,000 US troops deployed in

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First Published: Mon, January 21 2019. 22:35 IST