The Taliban has been told to issue a declaration distancing itself from al-Qaeda and committing itself to peace talks before it can open a political office in Qatar, according to diplomatic sources, The Guardian wrote on Thursday.
The office is aimed at providing a base for the terrorist group to negotiate with the United States.
The Taliban sent representatives to Doha last year with the aim of pursuing talks with the US, but the process stalled over a failure to agree terms for the release of five Afghan insurgent commanders held at Guantánamo Bay.
US President Barack Obama's restated remarks this week to close the prison camp has revived hopes for the Qatari officials that releases could be back on the table, and so a deal could be forged with Taliban.
Qatari government attempts to bring Taliban closer is seen to be related to the latest activities of the terrorist groups in Syria.
Syrian government has been providing evidences of Qatar government’s supports of the terrorist and armed rebel groups in Syria, from training them to equipping them with arms.
However smaller rebel groups in Syria have been voicing commitment to al-Qaeda and so Qatar’s ambitions to make closer ties with Taliban is seen as a compensation for losing its influence on these militant groups.
US stances towards Taliban have always been under question among Middle Eastern countries.
In March, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the United States secretly worked with the Taliban to facilitate terrorist attacks, in order to demonstrate a need for US troop presence in the country after the scheduled withdrawal of Western troops at the end of next year.