KABUL (Press TV) – Afghan officials are conducting talks with the Taliban militant group following a recent wave of deadly bombings and terror attacks by the outfit that have left almost 200 people killed, a report says.
"Afghanistan’s intelligence Chief Masoom Stanikzai and its National Security Chief Mohammed Hanif Atmar continue to each talk separately to the Taliban,” the Associated Press reported Tuesday citing individuals "familiar with the backdoor negotiations.”
According to the report, the secret talks with the terrorist group reflect a desire in Kabul to end the Taliban militancy, which has lingered on 17 years after a United States-led military invasion of the country toppled a Taliban regime.
The unidentified sources further said that the problem was that neither one of the top Afghan security officials in contact with the Taliban "is talking to the other or to the High Peace Council,” which was established by Kabul to discuss peace with the Taliban.
Disagreements within the Afghan government have also reportedly expanded, even as Taliban militants continue to gain more territory across Afghanistan — and despite the recent deployment of thousands of more U.S. troops to the country — while exploiting increasingly ruthless tactics.
The AP report said Hakim Mujahid, a member of the High Peace Council, had confirmed that Stanikzai still maintained regular contacts with the Taliban’s point man for negotiations, Mullah Abbas Stanikzai. The two are not related.
Meanwhile, representatives from dozens of countries are due to meet in the Afghan capital later this month for a second time to discuss the so-called Kabul Process aimed at forging a path to peace. The first round was held in June.
Still, the latest spate of violence has limited options for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who is also fending off a mini-revolt within his own government, feuding with the vice president as well as a powerful northern governor.
 
Afghan security personnel stand at the site of an attack near the Marshal Fahim Military Academy base in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 29, 2018.