Kabul calls for date to be set for Taliban talks

Delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States meet to broker peace

Afghanistan expects a date for direct talks with the Taliban to be set by the end of February, the foreign minister told an international group seeking to relaunch the peace process at a meeting in Kabul on Tuesday.

Delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States met in the capital for a fourth round of talks aimed at forming a path back to the nascent peace process, which was interrupted by summer's announcement that Taliban leader Mullah Omar had died.

Taliban representatives have been notably absent from the process so far.

"We want this group to draft the details of direct talks between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban before the end of February," Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani told participants.

"To end the conflict and bloodshed in the country, the government of Afghanistan once again calls on Taliban groups to take part in peace talks," he said.

The historic first round of direct talks with the Taliban took place in the Pakistani resort town of Muree in July, but came to a standstill after the insurgents confirmed Omar's death, which had been kept secret for two years.

The announcement, and appointment of his successor Mullah Akhtar Mansour, accentuated divisions among the militants, with many holding Mansour responsible for lying to them about Omar's death.

In 2015 a splinter group formed under Mullah Rasool and challenged Mansour's leadership. But the disunity has not dented the Taliban's fighting ability.

The fresh peace initiative comes as the Taliban insurgents wage an unprecedented winter campaign of violence across Afghanistan, underscoring a worsening security situation more than 14 years after they were driven out of power by US-led NATO forces.

The first round of attempts to bring the militants back to the negotiating table began in Islamabad in January, followed by two more meetings in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Also on Tuesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced he is replacing Rabbani as head the High Peace Council, the government body responsible for negotiating with the insurgents, without specifying the reasons.

Pir Sayyed Ahmad Gailani, an influential leader among the Pashtun who make up a large number of the Taliban, will take his place.

A Taliban spokesman said representatives would not be at the meeting on Tuesday.

Tuesday's four-way talks in Kabul come against a backdrop of continuing violence and increasing military pressure from the Taliban, which has stepped up its insurgency since the withdrawal of most international troops from combat in 2014.

Over the weekend, Afghan officials confirmed that troops had pulled out of two key districts in Helmand, leaving the entire northern half of the volatile province in the hands of the insurgents.

AFP - Reuters