The Afghan government has finalized the list of participants for the China meeting on Afghan peace, President Ghani’s spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi confirmed on Wednesday.
“This meeting could…provide a process that paves the way for a negotiation between the government and the Taliban,” Sediqqi said.
On Monday, President Ashraf Ghani in a phone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to a meeting which will be held in Beijing and will include a Taliban delegation to discuss Afghanistan’s peace agreement, according to Sediqqi.
The meeting was originally meant to be held on October 29 and 30 in Beijing, but the Afghan government asked China to delay the meeting due to unknown reasons.
It not yet clear when the meeting will take place, but Sediqqi on Monday said that the meeting will be held in the “near future,” and that delegations from both the Kabul government and the Taliban will exchange views on the peace process.
“The date of the meeting will be announced by China. The Afghan government will soon share a list of its participants with the Chinese government,” Sediqqi added.
Some politicians said there are differences over the formation of the delegation:
“I am calling on the government and politicians to suppress their differences and agree on a list because such tensions will not bring lasting peace to the country,” said political analyst Ahmadullah Alizai.
Haji Din Mohammad, the leader of the Peace and Development Party, said: “The fact is, if they want to reach an agreement with the Taliban and solve their problems, they should choose those who are aware of the issues for peace, and then I believe they will have results.”
The Taliban announced that they were invited to the meeting by the Chinese government and that a delegation from the group led by Taliban’s senior leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will attend the meeting.
