KABUL – President Ashraf Ghani announced his 21-member team to negotiate peace with the Taliban on Friday after months of deliberation, only to have his political opponent reject it as not inclusive enough.
Afghanistan's political turmoil has impeded each tentative step toward negotiations with the Taliban, which is the next critical step in a peace deal Washington signed with the insurgent group last month.
The deal calls for the eventual withdrawal of all 13,000 U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan in exchange for guarantees from the Taliban to fight terrorist groups, including the Islamic State group.
The deal has also been touted as Afghanistan's best chance yet of ending its relentless wars. But Ghani and his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah —