After three months of engagement in Doha, Qatar, the Taliban and the Afghan government took a 23 days' break from the intra-Afghan negotiations. The Afghan republic negotiation team is set to return to Kabul today, TOLOnews reported. 

Last week, both sides finalized an agreement on procedural rules for further engagement. Reports say both teams have shared their agenda items with each other. 

“Since the agenda items need further consultations, the two sides agreed for a recess and to resume the 2nd round of talks on January 5, 2021,” tweeted Nader Nadery, a member of the Afghan Republic negotiation team. 

Both the Taliban and the government team thanked “the people and [the] State of Qatar for their generous hospitality.”

“The delegation will return to Kabul for consultations not for rest, to find common ground for all sides in the talks,” Habiba Sarabi, a woman delegate of the Afghan republic team, was quoted by Tolonews. 

Earlier reports suggested that the Afghan government gave a 28 points draft agenda list while the Taliban handed over a 21 points agenda list. Meanwhile, the Afghan government has rejected the issue of the formation of the interim government. 

Experts believe, the insurgent group is unlikely to agree on a ceasefire until either an agreement on the future political structure or an interim government. The Taliban has repeated its demand for the release of more prisoners but it wasn’t included in the agenda wishlist of the Taliban. 

The US-Taliban agreement though has the provision of releasing the rest of the Taliban prisoners three months after the start of the intra-Afghan dialogue.