The second phase of the Intra-Afghan negotiation, which started on 5 January, saw no progress as the working groups from the Afghan government and the Taliban failed to meet in the last six days, TOLO news reported.

The report said both sides formed working groups to discuss the agendas but groups haven’t conducted any meaningful meeting thereafter. Nader Nadery, a member of the Afghan government negotiation team, said on Monday the heads of the two teams, and a few other members held a meeting on Sunday. No progress was reported in the discussions.

Experts believe chances of any progress in talks are dim until the new Biden administration takes charge in the United States. The Taliban seems to be waiting for some clarity on the US-Taliban deal from the Biden administration.

Earlier, Biden expressed his willingness to keep a little counter-terrorism force in Afghanistan which, if adopted, would mean a violation of the US-Taliban deal. Under the deal, all foreign forces are expected to withdraw from Afghanistan by May 2021, but that withdrawal is also conditional.

Meanwhile, delay in the meetings between the warring Afghan sides was criticized by Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation.  

“Our negotiating team is in Qatar. They’re back there on time. They had plenty of meetings with different stakeholders,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by TOLOnews in a virtual meet with foreign diplomats.