Taliban reach preliminary agreement to set up office in Qatar

KABUL: The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday that they have reached a preliminary agreement to set up a political office in the Gulf nation of Qatar, and asked for the release of prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison by the US.

“We are right now ready…to have a political office overseas, in order to have an understanding with the international (community), and in this regard we have reached an initial understanding with Qatar and relevant sites,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an emailed statement.

The Taliban office is seen by Western and Afghan officials as key to moving forward with secretive attempts to reach a negotiated end to a decade of war in Afghanistan.