Taliban leaders in Qatar for talks with US envoy

DOHA, Feb 25 (Agencies): Senior Taliban leaders, including one of the group's founders, have arrived in Qatar for another round of talks with Washington's special envoy tasked with finding a negotiated solution to Afghanistan's protracted war.

Talks with US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad are expected to start on Monday.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the movement, was among the Taliban who arrived in Doha, where the insurgents have a political office.

Past rounds of talks have focused on US withdrawal of troops, which is a long-standing Taliban demand, and guarantees that Afghanistan will not be used again as a staging area for terror attacks on the US.

Khalilzad is expected to pressure the Taliban to hold direct talks with the government in Kabul, something the insurgents have so far refused to do.

Meanwhile, the government in Kabul continued to voice concerns Monday over being sidelined in the negotiations.

The Taliban have steadfastly refused to negotiate with the Kabul government, whom they dismiss as "puppets".

"The Taliban are still not ready to talk to Afghan government, but we are ready. We think that Taliban's dishonesty is the only obstacle," said Abdullah Abdullah, the country's de-facto prime minister, in a televised address on Monday.

"We are flexible and ready to make a team that is acceptable to all."

The latest negotiations come as violence soars in Afghanistan, with the UN reporting Sunday that more civilians were killed in 2018 than any other year since records began in 2009.