KABUL: Qatar is likely to host the initial round of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government after the two foes complete an ongoing prisoner swap, a minister said Thursday.
The talks were originally supposed to have started March 10, but there have been repeated delays amid continued fighting and as the prisoner exchange drags on.
"There is a consensus that the beginning of the talks be held in Qatar," acting Afghan foreign minister Mohamad Haneef Atmar told reporters.
The Taliban have a political office in Qatar's capital Doha.
Atmar said 12 countries have offered to host peace talks, including Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Indonesia, Japan, Norway and Turkey.
The peace negotiations hinge on the prisoner swap, in which Kabul is expected to free some 5,000 Taliban prisoners in return for around 1,000 Afghan security force captives held by the insurgents. So far, Afghan authorities have released 4,400 Taliban inmates, Atmar said, calling it "significant progress".
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