Peace Conference Plans Derailed as Taliban Object to Afghan Delegation -nytimes

DOHA, Qatar — A peace conference in Qatar that was intended to bring Taliban negotiators and Afghan government officials together was postponed indefinitely on Thursday after the insurgents objected to the large number of Afghan officials included in the country’s delegation.

It was a setback to American efforts to end the long war in Afghanistan, with no progress achieved on a formula for how power would be shared following an American withdrawal even though United States diplomats and Taliban negotiators have neared a deal in talks that have so far excluded the Afghan government.

The two-day conference, scheduled to begin Saturday, was seen as an effort to bring the Taliban closer to meeting with the Afghan government and to pave the way for direct negotiations. The Afghan officials were expected to arrive as part of a delegation of nearly 200 people representing a cross-section of society.

Despite last-minute diplomatic efforts to save the conference after disagreements over the list surfaced, the organizer said late on Thursday that the event, already delayed a couple of times, was now postponed with no future date set.

“Despite tireless and well-intentioned efforts of all parties, a shared understanding on how to achieve inclusivity couldn’t be reached,” said Sultan Barakat, the director of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in Doha, which was the host of the event on behalf of the Qatar government. “All parties are working to resolve differences over the size and makeup of the delegation to visit Doha.”

The last-minute breakdown was sudden. Dozens of Afghan officials who had gone to bed expecting to fly to Qatar on Thursday woke instead to “final” lists of the meeting’s participants in local news media. Those lists, which were leaked by individuals close to the Taliban, did not include the Afghan officials’ names. That was followed by phone calls telling them that the delegation’s flight to Qatar was off.

Early on Thursday, Afghan officials made clear to the Qatari government they would not accept changes to their list of about 200 participants, which emerged from a protracted internal selection process; the Taliban continued refusing to meet with that group - Read More

Peace Conference Plans Derailed as Taliban Object to Afghan ...