Insistence on violence will marginalise perpetrators: Afghan FM

Doha, Qatar – Historic talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in the Qatari capital might have stalled for days, but Mohammed Haneef Atmar, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, remains optimistic about their outcome. “The reality now is that we have face-to-face direct negotiation, which shows welcome progress; yes, we have obstacles and that’s why we have this dialogue, to remove them,” Atmar told Al Jazeera on Monday. He was part of a high-level delegation led by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that arrived in Doha on Sunday. During his two-day trip, Ghani and his team met the government negotiators, as well as diplomats from the United States – but did not interact with the Taliban. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">