From Rezaul H Laskar Islamabad, Apr 28 (PTI) The Afghan Taliban have resumed talks with the US in Qatar to find a political solution to the decades-old conflict in Afghanistan though the two sides have been unable to make any headway in the parleys, according to a media report today. The two sides are sticking to "hard conditions" during the initial rounds of the talks, senior unnamed Taliban leaders were quoted as saying by The News daily. The Taliban had opened an office in Qatar on January 3 and named it their "diplomatic office" for talks with the US. A five-member Taliban delegation led by Tayyab Agha, the brother-in-law and spokesman for Afghan Taliban supreme commander Mullah Mohammad Omar, travelled to Qatar three weeks ago and held two rounds of talks with US officials, the Taliban leaders said. Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, a former Taliban envoy to Saudi Arabia, is another member of the delegation. However, the Taliban leaders said they were not expecting any "immediate breakthroughs" in the ongoing talks. The Taliban leaders said the Afghan Foreign Minister failed to meet the Taliban delegation during a recent visit to Qatar. "The Taliban and Americans wanted Pakistan to be included in the talks while the Afghan government opposed Pakistan's participation. "The Afghan Foreign Minister did not want the Taliban office in Qatar to have legal status to develop contacts with the international community," one Taliban leader said. The last round of talks with the US had annoyed some Taliban factions and commanders, the leaders said. PTI RHL
