AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai is set to hold discussions in Qatar about the opening of a Taliban office in the Gulf state as a prelude to possible talks on ending more than a decade of war.
Karzai previously opposed such a Qatar venue since he feared his government would be frozen out of any peace negotiations involving the Islamic extremists and the United States.
The militants refuse to have direct contact with the Afghan president, saying he is a puppet of the United States, which supported his rise to power after the military operation to oust the Taliban from Kabul in 2001.
But with US-led NATO combat troops due to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Karzai agreed to the proposed Taliban office in Doha and is expected to raise the plan in talks with the Emir of Qatar on Sunday.
Any future peace talks still face numerous hurdles before they begin, including confusion over who would represent the Taliban and Karzai's insistence that his appointees should be at the centre of negotiations.
"We will discuss the peace process, of course, and the opening of an office for the Taliban in Qatar," presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi told AFP before Karzai left Kabul on Saturday.
"If we want to have talks to bring peace to Afghanistan, the main side must be the Afghan government's representatives - the High Peace Council, which has members from all the country's ethnic and political backgrounds."
Negotiating with the hardline Taliban regime that harboured al-Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks was for many years an anathema to countries in the UN-backed coalition against the militants.
But the search for a political settlement became a priority as the insurgency raged on, with Taliban leaders able to fuel violence from safe havens across the border in Pakistan.
Kabul has repeatedly stressed it will only start talks if the militants break all links with al-Qaeda and give up violence, and Faizi said any Taliban office in Qatar must be subject to strict conditions.
"It can only be an address where the armed opposition sit and talk to the Afghanistan government," he said.
"This office cannot be used for any other purposes."
Karzai met with Qatari investors on Saturday evening and encouraged them to invest in the country as it works to secure stability before NATO-led combat forces withdraw next year.
"The future of Afghanistan is guaranteed because our relations have expanded with America and other countries such as China, India and Russia," he said according to an emailed statement.
"Afghanistan has good opportunities and resources that we can share with you."
The United Nations this week welcomed news Karzai would visit Qatar, and issued another call for the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.
But a Qatar office could mean little if the Taliban continue to refuse to negotiate with Karzai or the government-appointed High Peace Council.
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