Officials from the United Nations (UN) met members of the Taliban’s Political Commission in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
The meeting was for “expressing support for direct intra-Afghan talks starting this week” and they advocated for “reduced violence” to improve the atmosphere before the negotiations take place.
The UN also underscored its availability to give expert help to the peace process.
However, First Vice President Amrullah Saleh questioned the phrase “reduced violence” in a tweet on Sunday.
“Death with one bullet or hundred cuts is still death. Dying on the spot due to shot wounds or dying two days later of the same wounds is still a violent death. Missing principles,” he wrote asking people to find the historical usage of reduced violence as a phrase.
The Reduction in Violence (RiV) measure was a condition set by the U.S.-Taliban agreement in February as a confidence-building measure, along with the prisoner exchange.
However, officials have noted that while the Taliban have reduced attacks on U.S. and other foreign troops in Afghanistan, they have continued to clash with Afghan security forces and civilians.
