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Q&A: Afghan Taliban open Doha office
Taliban spokesman Mohammed Naeem said the group wanted to talks to Afghans
Continue reading the main story Taliban Conflict
The Taliban have opened their first official overseas office in the Qatari capital, Doha, saying that one of their main aims was to "meet Afghans".
The group has long refused to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai or his government, branding them puppets of the US.
However, Afghan officials as well as envoys from the White House are expected to open peace talks at the office despite their many disagreements, as the BBC World Service's Dawood Azami explains.
Who is involved and where?
The main parties are the Afghan government and its High Peace Council, the US and the Taliban. There have been meetings between Taliban representatives and US officials over the past two years. The Taliban have also sent their representatives to conferences on Afghanistan in Germany, Japan, and France but it would be the first time that the group has met Afghan government representatives for direct peace talks.
From now on, the Taliban will have a known address and authorised representatives who can openly talk, meet and travel. The Qatar office means the Taliban are no longer only a fighting group, but have a political arm too.
What are the main obstacles?
Within hours of the Taliban office opening Mr Karzai raised his concerns about the peace process not being fully Afghan-owned and Afghan-led. He suspended plans for High Peace Council members to meet the Taliban in Qatar, underlining how fraught with difficulty the process will be.
Correspondents say his concerns were so great that US Secretary of State John Kerry had to intervene with the result that the Taliban flag and their sign reading "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" were swiftly removed from the new office in the Gulf state of Qatar.
There are several other obstacles.
The first is that the Taliban insist on the complete withdrawal of foreign forces as a pre-condition to becoming part of a political settlement.
President Hamid Karzai said the security handover was a "great day" for Afghanistan
Nato's combat troops are due to leave the country by the end of 2014, but the US plans to station a few thousand forces after that as part of a bilateral security agreement. Details are still to be agreed by Kabul and Washington.
The shape of the future Afghan government is another issue over which all main parties have serious disagreements.
Another possible obstacle comes from civil groups and women's rights activists who fear a political settlement resulting in the Taliban's inclusion in the Afghan government would mean limitations on their freedoms.
The official opening of the Taliban's office was delayed because President Karzai was concerned it could be used for recruitment, fundraising and making contacts with other countries that might prolong the conflict.
He was looking for guarantees the office would only be used for peace talks and that the Taliban would agree to talk to the Afghan High Peace Council.
Afghan troops now tackle Taliban attacks like this one in Kabul on 10 June
Mr Karzai visited Qatar twice this year; on his latest trip in early June, Qatar reportedly accepted his demands for guarantees.
President Karzai said: "We don't have any immediate preconditions for talks between the Afghan peace council and the Taliban, but we have principles laid down."
These are that:
What are the main aims of three parties?
Taliban leaders, most of whom have been subject to UN sanctions, see this as an opportunity to come in from the cold and present their case to the world.
The Taliban also want the release of at least some prisoners from Guantanamo and Afghan jails, as well as the removal of the remaining leaders on the sanction list.
Finally, the Taliban want the talks to result in the full withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.
The Afghan government hopes it will be able to meet the Taliban directly without the involvement of a third party, such as Pakistan.
US and Afghan leaders want the Taliban to join the Afghan government as a result of the peace process, without losing the achievements of the past decade.
The White House set a condition: that the Taliban make a statement supporting a peace process and opposing the use of Afghan soil to threaten other countries.
The peace talks will succeed, the Americans say, when the Taliban finally sever all ties with al-Qaeda, end violence and accept the Afghan constitution, including its protections for women and minorities.
Have there been previous attempts at negotiation?
President Karzai has long called on the Taliban to join the peace process. In late 2008 he even offered to provide security for the Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Omar, if he agreed to peace talks. However, this was not enough to convince Taliban leaders to join the political process.
Hamid Karzai wanted guarantees about the Taliban's new office in Doha
The Afghan government's efforts were mainly focused on re-integrating Taliban fighters and did not have a reconciliation strategy. The Taliban did not trust the Afghan government and considered it a "puppet" of the US.
They saw the peace calls as an attempt to divide and weaken them.
In addition, the issue of engaging with the Taliban was controversial in Western capitals, especially Washington. The realisation that the Afghan conflict could not be resolved by force alone grew gradually and Nato members started seriously exploring the idea of engaging with the Taliban at a 2011 peace conference.
The High Peace Council was established after a 2010 Jirga - council of tribal delegates - in Kabul and tasked with contacting the Taliban and convincing them to join the peace process.
Sporadic contacts were made with a number of Taliban leaders but did not have the desired outcome of provoking large-scale desertions from Taliban ranks.
Does Pakistan have a role?
Pakistan was one of the Taliban's main supporters from when it was launched in Kandahar in 1994 until the fall of the regime in 2001. Most of the Taliban's leaders reportedly then fled to Pakistan.
Taliban representatives reportedly went to Qatar from Pakistan. The Taliban are still considered to be heavily dependent on the support of certain elements in Pakistan, although this influence seems to have its limits.
Pakistan's co-operation will probably prove critical to convince or pressurise the Taliban to reach a political settlement with the Afghan government.
Pakistan's influence on the Taliban will probably decrease substantially when, and if, the Taliban come out of the cold and become able to move and talk freely.
The talks are as much between Afghanistan and Pakistan as they are between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
President Karzai has reached out to Islamabad, saying he wants to start serious talks. Pakistan has been involved in background talks for the opening of the Taliban office in Qatar, and allowed its representatives to travel freely.
Pakistani officials generally say Islamabad wants a "friendly, peaceful and sovereign" Afghanistan. But they are adamant that Pakistan's "legitimate interests" in Afghanistan must be recognised after the withdrawal of Nato troops.
Balancing Pakistan's interests and demands with the requirements of a new Afghanistan will be a challenge for both countries.
Has the timing been carefully arranged?
Statements from Kabul, Qatar and Washington on 18 June were carefully choreographed and were the outcome of intensive talks between all the relevant parties over the past two years.
The Taliban announcement about the opening of their office came just hours after the Afghan government said it was formally taking over responsibility for national security from the Nato combat mission.
The diminishing role of Nato in Afghan affairs has increased the legitimacy of the Afghan government and made it possible for it to show - both to the Taliban and the rest of the world - that it is the main party to talk to.
Taliban representatives have been present in Qatar for more than a year, are now said to number more than 20 and have travelled to France, Tokyo and Iran as well as a number of Arab countries from Doha.
Are the Taliban now happy to talk to Afghan leaders?
The Taliban have for years refused to speak to the Afghan government or members of the High Peace Council. They insisted that they wanted to talk to the US - which they called "the main party in the conflict".
But the Taliban's statement says one of the main aims of the Doha office is "to meet Afghans". Although it does not refer to specific members of the Afghan government or its High Peace Council, that is being read as a major shift in their position.
Taliban spokesman Mohammed Naeem said the group wanted to talks to Afghans Continue reading the main story Taliban Conflict
The Taliban have opened their first official overseas office in the Qatari capital, Doha, saying that one of their main aims was to "meet Afghans".
The group has long refused to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai or his government, branding them puppets of the US.
However, Afghan officials as well as envoys from the White House are expected to open peace talks at the office despite their many disagreements, as the BBC World Service's Dawood Azami explains.
Who is involved and where?
The main parties are the Afghan government and its High Peace Council, the US and the Taliban. There have been meetings between Taliban representatives and US officials over the past two years. The Taliban have also sent their representatives to conferences on Afghanistan in Germany, Japan, and France but it would be the first time that the group has met Afghan government representatives for direct peace talks.
From now on, the Taliban will have a known address and authorised representatives who can openly talk, meet and travel. The Qatar office means the Taliban are no longer only a fighting group, but have a political arm too.
What are the main obstacles?
Within hours of the Taliban office opening Mr Karzai raised his concerns about the peace process not being fully Afghan-owned and Afghan-led. He suspended plans for High Peace Council members to meet the Taliban in Qatar, underlining how fraught with difficulty the process will be.
Correspondents say his concerns were so great that US Secretary of State John Kerry had to intervene with the result that the Taliban flag and their sign reading "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" were swiftly removed from the new office in the Gulf state of Qatar.
There are several other obstacles.
The first is that the Taliban insist on the complete withdrawal of foreign forces as a pre-condition to becoming part of a political settlement.
President Hamid Karzai said the security handover was a "great day" for Afghanistan Nato's combat troops are due to leave the country by the end of 2014, but the US plans to station a few thousand forces after that as part of a bilateral security agreement. Details are still to be agreed by Kabul and Washington.
The shape of the future Afghan government is another issue over which all main parties have serious disagreements.
Another possible obstacle comes from civil groups and women's rights activists who fear a political settlement resulting in the Taliban's inclusion in the Afghan government would mean limitations on their freedoms.
The official opening of the Taliban's office was delayed because President Karzai was concerned it could be used for recruitment, fundraising and making contacts with other countries that might prolong the conflict.
He was looking for guarantees the office would only be used for peace talks and that the Taliban would agree to talk to the Afghan High Peace Council.
Afghan troops now tackle Taliban attacks like this one in Kabul on 10 June Mr Karzai visited Qatar twice this year; on his latest trip in early June, Qatar reportedly accepted his demands for guarantees.
President Karzai said: "We don't have any immediate preconditions for talks between the Afghan peace council and the Taliban, but we have principles laid down."
These are that:
- Talks should eventually move to Afghanistan
- Talks should result in the ending of violence in Afghanistan
- The Taliban office should not become a venue for other countries to exploit or use for their own interests
What are the main aims of three parties?
Taliban leaders, most of whom have been subject to UN sanctions, see this as an opportunity to come in from the cold and present their case to the world.
The Taliban also want the release of at least some prisoners from Guantanamo and Afghan jails, as well as the removal of the remaining leaders on the sanction list.
Finally, the Taliban want the talks to result in the full withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.
The Afghan government hopes it will be able to meet the Taliban directly without the involvement of a third party, such as Pakistan.
US and Afghan leaders want the Taliban to join the Afghan government as a result of the peace process, without losing the achievements of the past decade.
The White House set a condition: that the Taliban make a statement supporting a peace process and opposing the use of Afghan soil to threaten other countries.
The peace talks will succeed, the Americans say, when the Taliban finally sever all ties with al-Qaeda, end violence and accept the Afghan constitution, including its protections for women and minorities.
Have there been previous attempts at negotiation?
President Karzai has long called on the Taliban to join the peace process. In late 2008 he even offered to provide security for the Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Omar, if he agreed to peace talks. However, this was not enough to convince Taliban leaders to join the political process.
Hamid Karzai wanted guarantees about the Taliban's new office in Doha The Afghan government's efforts were mainly focused on re-integrating Taliban fighters and did not have a reconciliation strategy. The Taliban did not trust the Afghan government and considered it a "puppet" of the US.
They saw the peace calls as an attempt to divide and weaken them.
In addition, the issue of engaging with the Taliban was controversial in Western capitals, especially Washington. The realisation that the Afghan conflict could not be resolved by force alone grew gradually and Nato members started seriously exploring the idea of engaging with the Taliban at a 2011 peace conference.
The High Peace Council was established after a 2010 Jirga - council of tribal delegates - in Kabul and tasked with contacting the Taliban and convincing them to join the peace process.
Sporadic contacts were made with a number of Taliban leaders but did not have the desired outcome of provoking large-scale desertions from Taliban ranks.
Does Pakistan have a role?
Pakistan was one of the Taliban's main supporters from when it was launched in Kandahar in 1994 until the fall of the regime in 2001. Most of the Taliban's leaders reportedly then fled to Pakistan.
Taliban representatives reportedly went to Qatar from Pakistan. The Taliban are still considered to be heavily dependent on the support of certain elements in Pakistan, although this influence seems to have its limits.
Pakistan's co-operation will probably prove critical to convince or pressurise the Taliban to reach a political settlement with the Afghan government.
Pakistan's influence on the Taliban will probably decrease substantially when, and if, the Taliban come out of the cold and become able to move and talk freely.
The talks are as much between Afghanistan and Pakistan as they are between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
President Karzai has reached out to Islamabad, saying he wants to start serious talks. Pakistan has been involved in background talks for the opening of the Taliban office in Qatar, and allowed its representatives to travel freely.
Pakistani officials generally say Islamabad wants a "friendly, peaceful and sovereign" Afghanistan. But they are adamant that Pakistan's "legitimate interests" in Afghanistan must be recognised after the withdrawal of Nato troops.
Balancing Pakistan's interests and demands with the requirements of a new Afghanistan will be a challenge for both countries.
Has the timing been carefully arranged?
Statements from Kabul, Qatar and Washington on 18 June were carefully choreographed and were the outcome of intensive talks between all the relevant parties over the past two years.
The Taliban announcement about the opening of their office came just hours after the Afghan government said it was formally taking over responsibility for national security from the Nato combat mission.
The diminishing role of Nato in Afghan affairs has increased the legitimacy of the Afghan government and made it possible for it to show - both to the Taliban and the rest of the world - that it is the main party to talk to.
Taliban representatives have been present in Qatar for more than a year, are now said to number more than 20 and have travelled to France, Tokyo and Iran as well as a number of Arab countries from Doha.
Are the Taliban now happy to talk to Afghan leaders?
The Taliban have for years refused to speak to the Afghan government or members of the High Peace Council. They insisted that they wanted to talk to the US - which they called "the main party in the conflict".
But the Taliban's statement says one of the main aims of the Doha office is "to meet Afghans". Although it does not refer to specific members of the Afghan government or its High Peace Council, that is being read as a major shift in their position.