By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA): In a bid to form an inclusive government, a Taliban delegation on Wednesday held meetings with prominent political figures of Afghanistan, including former President Hamid Karzai.

The Taliban delegation was led by Anas Haqqani, a senior leader of the Haqqani Network, and the former government’s main peace envoy, Abdullah Abdullah, was also present in the meeting, sources told Tolo News, an Afghan news website. The meeting was held in the house of Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation Chairman Abdullah Abdullah.

On Aug. 15, Karzai had announced the formation of a coordination council along with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a veteran Afghan mujahideen leader and head of the Hezb-e-Islami party, and Abdullah to facilitate a smooth transition of power in the war-torn country.

Meanwhile Associated Press reports, quoting an anonymous offical, that senior Taliban leader, leader Amir Khan Muttaqi, is believed to be holding talks with Kabul’s political leadership. He held talks with Abdullah Abdullah and Hamid Karzai. 

The official said the talks under way were aimed at bringing other non-Taliban leaders into the government that Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen has said will be an “inclusive Afghan government.”

Taliban overran the Afghan capital Kabul on Aug. 15 after the Western-backed government and resistance from its US- and NATO-trained forces collapsed.

While President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and is now in the UAE; the group has declared that war in Afghanistan is over.

Meanwhile, processions to mark Afghanistan’s 102nd Independence Day turned violent in a number of cities Wednesday, with many participants reportedly fired on by the Taliban.

Locals in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, told Anadolu Agency that they wanted to hoist the tri-color national flag of Afghanistan in the city’s Martyrs Square, but the Taliban opposed it and subsequent clashes led to casualties.

According to a report by the Al-Jazeera news agency, at least three participants of the rally were killed.

Salam Afghanistan radio reported from neighboring Kunar province and southeastern Khost province that similar processions were held.

It is pivotal to note that Afghanistan has been marking its Independence Day from the British, but now with the arrival of the Taliban, a debate over changing the tri-color Afghan flag back to the white Taliban flag has emerged.

Additional report by Sahdi Khan Saif

[Photo: Taliban patrol in Herat city after they took control in Herat, Afghanistan, on August 18, 2021. Photographer: Mir Ahmad Firooz Mashoof]