Iran Press/Asia: A spokesman for Afghanistan's Supreme National Reconciliation Council said the Taliban had not yet taken any practical steps to start intra-Afghan talks, despite the introduction of members of the peace negotiating team.
Fereydoun Khozun added that the Afghan government's negotiating team is ready for intra-Afghan talks, however, the Taliban have not yet announced their readiness to start talks.
The Taliban also issued a statement announcing changes to the group's negotiating team, introducing Maulvi Abdul Hakim as the team leader, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai as the deputy, and Mohammad Naeem Wardak the new spokesmen for the Taliban's political office in Qatar.
Maulvi Abdul Hakim is a Taliban judge and a close associate of Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the former group's leader.
Ashraf Ghani's government has stated its priority in negotiating a ceasefire and ending the war, but Rahmatullah Nabil, a former Afghan national security chief, says the Taliban is likely to call for an interim government in exchange for the ceasefire.
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