Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasool will visit Qatar to meet government officials to discuss reconciliation with the Taliban, a ministry spokesman said on Saturday, a sign the nascent peace process could gain momentum. Rasool is scheduled to leave for Qatar in under ten days, Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai told Reuters.
The Afghan Taliban announced in January it would open a political office in Qatar, suggesting the group may be willing to engage in negotiations that would be likely to give it Afghan government positions or official control over much of its historical southern heartland. Initially the Kabul government was cool to the idea of the Taliban holding talks with US officials in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar.
President Hamid Karzai withdrew his ambassador to Doha, apparently angry he had not been properly consulted or worried his government could be excluded from talks. An Afghan government official described Rasool's visit as a "very important step" and that the Afghan ambassador would soon return to Qatar.
Afghan officials have since pledged support for the Qatar reconciliation efforts, but also want Saudi Arabia and Turkey to facilitate talks to make the process more comprehensive. In another signal of possible progress, an Afghan government delegation visited the US Guantanamo Bay military prison this week to secure approval from five Taliban detainees who may soon be moved to Qatar.
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