The Taliban announced the formation of its team that will negotiate with the Afghan government, and confirmed its readiness to start negotiations when the government completes the release of the last batch of its detainees.
The team, headed by Sher Muhammad Abbas Stankzai, includes 20 members, including 13 members of the movement’s leadership council.
Stankzai said in statements to Al-Jazeera that the team is affiliated with the office of the movement's leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzadeh, and was formed with his direct recommendation.
Outstanding leaders
Stankzai confirmed that the presence of 13 members of the leadership council indicates that the team has great powers in the negotiations.
The Taliban leader called on the United States, Australia, France and the Afghan government to refrain from placing obstacles to the start of the Afghan negotiations, and to speed up the release of the remaining detainees of the movement in preparation for the start of negotiations.
Among the members of the negotiating team is Sheikh Abdul Hakim, the judge in the Taliban movement, and among the figures close to the founder of the movement, the late Mullah Muhammad Omar.
The team also includes Mawlawi Nur Muhammad Thaqib, chief of the Supreme Court during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and Mullah Fadhil Mazloum, who was the commander of the army in the Taliban government, and was one of the detainees in Guantanamo Bay.