The Taliban on Monday said it is accelerating peace talks with the Afghan government, with written peace plans possibly coming as soon as next month. "The peace talks and process will be accelerated in the coming days ... and they are expected to enter an important stage, naturally it will be about peace plans," Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesperson, told Reuters. "Possibly it will take a month to reach that stage when both sides will share their written peace plan," Mujahid added. "Although we [Taliban] have the upper hand on the battlefield, we are very serious about talks and dialogue." In June, the Taliban said it was committed to peace talks, with its co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar saying the organization was still pursuing a "genuine Islamic system."

Source: The North Africa Journal July 05, 2021 18:45 UTC