WASHINGTON: Representatives of the Afghan government may be included in a larger delegation of Afghan politicians which is likely to participate in the US-Taliban talks in Doha, Qatar in mid-April, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief US negotiator with the Taliban, said in Kabul on Tuesday that the Afghan government must be included in the peace process. The Taliban, however, continue to refuse direct talks with the Afghan government.

Take a look: Zalmay Khalilzad: the blunt veteran US diplomat leading peace efforts in Afghanistan

Diplomatic observers in Washington say the one way to resolve this issue is to include government representatives in a larger delegation of Afghan politicians, tribal elders, women and others.

The sources say that the Afghan government may still insist on having direct talks with the Taliban but the US side may not succeed in persuading the Taliban to do so.

In a piece published on the Foreign Policy news site on Tuesday, a former Afghan deputy foreign minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai also advised the Afghan government not to insist on being the sole representative of the Afghan people.

“The Afghan government can’t make peace with the Taliban on Its own,” said Mr Karzai, who also met Ambassador Khalilzad in Kabul during the weekend. “Negotiations involving a broad group that represents all of Afghanistan — not just its senior politicians — are the only way to achieve a lasting settlement,” he wrote.

Mr Karzai claimed that the government of President Ashraf Ghani had “alienated and sidelined the overwhelming majority of senior Afghan politicians” and had also “failed to improve security and economic conditions in the country.”

The Afghan government should now support efforts to “create a national negotiation team and collectively strengthen efforts for peace and reconciliation,” he wrote.

Ambassador Khalilzad, who met several senior Afghan politician and government officials in Kabul this week, also discussed this and other suggestions with them.

In a series of tweets released after his meetings with President Mohammad Ghani, CEO Abdullah Abdullah and other key figures, Mr Khalilzad underlined the need for comprehensive and intra-Afghan dialogue.

“Good to speak today with Hekmat Karzai Dr Omar Zakhilwal about the Afghan Peace Process. We agree that intra-Afghan dialogue should be comprehensive and inclusive with representatives from the Afghan government, women, young people, and civil society”, he wrote.

“Productive meeting and lunch with Chief Executive Abdullah and Foreign Minister Salah Rabbani. We discussed how the international community can best support them in an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned Afghan Peace Process”, he wrote in another tweet.

President Ghani also issued a brief statement, saying that the two sides discussed the ongoing peace efforts. “These discussions will continue between the two sides. As discussions progress, more details will be shared with the Afghan public.”

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2019