Another round of Afghan peace talks in Doha in August

With no progress in Doha peace talks, senior representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban will meet again in early August for another round of talks.

The Afghan delegation was led by Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, at the first meeting of the Doha talks held on 16-17 July. The two sides failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire but they agreed to continue their meeting and efforts to establish peace.

Efforts will be made to achieve a framework for peace talks through such meetings. The withdrawal of US security forces from Afghanistan is expected to be complete by August 31.

Former Taliban commander Syed Akbar Agha told that this time it will be helpful if an empowered team attends the meeting, but if the delegation does not have enough powers, the meeting will have no result.

Mr. Abdullah Abdullah had said that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.

The move for another round of talks comes after the Taliban killed 43 civilians and security forces in the Malistan district of the central province of Ghazni. Among those killed were two youths, who were leaving the area with their families and were not government employees or members of the security force.