accept: In a major development, Afghan government negotiators in Qatar on Thursday offered a power-sharing deal with the Taliban to end the ongoing violence in the country, news agency AFP reported.
“Yes, the government has submitted a proposal to Qatar as a mediator. The offer allows the Taliban to share power in exchange for stopping violence in the country,” a source close to the news agency said.
The development comes hours after the Taliban captured a provincial capital near Kabul earlier in the day. So far, it is the 10th province where insurgents have taken hold of a week-long attack across Afghanistan as the US and NATO prepare to withdraw completely from the country after decades of war.
The rebels waved their white flags with a famous Islamic proclamation over the city of Ghazni, which is just 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
The decision to offer the Taliban a power-sharing deal is being seen as a tilted move by Afghanistan, which has been fighting without any sign of ending.
(This is a developing story. More details are awaited.)
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