Spokesman for the High Peace Council, lawmaker Shazada Shahid, said at least one woman will be on the government team.
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A head of an expected second round of peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban leadership next week, officials close to the talks have said that establishing grounds for a ceasefire and reintegrating the opposition group into the political system will be the top priorities on the agenda.
The two sides are still working out the details such as the list of attendants, which should be finalized in the coming days, said Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar of the High Peace Council, the body charged with negotiating a settlement with the insurgents. Beijing says it faces its own radical Islamist insurrection there, members of which it believes get shelter and training from Taliban and other militants along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
“The talks… are set for July 30 but discussions and consultation are ongoing between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China on where to host the meeting”, the HPC deputy chairman Abdul Hakim Mujahid said.
Qasimyar told The Associated Press that Kabul would request a temporary cease-fire in the fighting, which has intensified following the April launch of the Taliban’s warm-weather offensive.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said that talks must be inclusive and transparent.
And after a casualty rate last year that the previous American commander called unsustainable, the numbers this year are even worse: up more than 50 percent compared with the first six months of 2014.
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During the talks, both sides expressed their collective desire to bring peace to Afghanistan and the region.
