Afghanistan announces team for peace talks with Taliban

By Bayram Altug

GENEVA

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday announced a 12-member delegation, comprising both of men and women, to conduct peace talks with the Taliban.

Speaking at an international conference on Afghanistan, Ghani said: "I am pleased to announce today that after several months of intensive consultation with our citizens across the country, we formulated a roadmap for peace negotiations."

He added: "We formed the required bodies and mechanisms to pursue a peace agreement. We are now moving ahead into the next chapter of the peace process. We seek a peace agreement in which the Afghan Taliban will be included to form a democratic and inclusive society."

He said successful peace talks are crucial for the upcoming presidential election.

Representatives from more than 70 countries are participating in the two-day Afghanistan Conference in the UN's Geneva Office.

Ghani and Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN special representative for Afghanistan, are also expected to hold a news conference.

Turkey is represented at the conference by Deputy Foreign Minister Selim Kiran.

Taliban, the main party of the conflict, is not attending the conference.

The Afghan government has extended an olive branch to the Taliban in the hopes of achieving peace in country ravaged by war.

The U.S. backs the process as its peace envoy in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has met twice with the Taliban representatives in Qatar in the hopes for the resumption of talks prior to the 2019 presidential election.

Taliban, however, have accelerated armed attacks and suicide assaults across Afghanistan in an apparent bid to enter the peace talks from a position of strength.