ISLAMABAD: Taliban and American officials concluded another round of negotiations in Qatar early Monday but failed to reach any significant breakthrough.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid described the talks as “productive.”

“8th round of negotiations were wrapped up at 02:30am b/w both negotiation teams following continuous work. Work was tedious & effective. Both sides agreed to consult their respective leaderships for next steps,” Mujahid wrote on Twitter without offering further details.

The eighth round started on August 4 and, within the next few days, technical committees started deliberating on how to finalize details of two important issues: Withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and preventing the possibility of allowing Afghan soil to be used for terrorist violence around the world.

The Taliban have frequently insisted that the two sides are primarily discussing these themes, though US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has always mentioned four issues: Troop withdrawal, counter-terrorism assurances, Taliban’s participation in intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations, and permanent and comprehensive cease-fire.

No date has been announced so far for a new round of talks. However, a senior Taliban negotiator Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa said in a recently reported remark that details of the two issues were yet to be finalized and talks would be held after Eid.

It is pertinent to mention here that negotiating teams had concluded talks on August 6 and both sides had assigned small technical teams to finalize the details of an agreement.

“We were discussing details of two issues (withdrawal and counter-terrorism). We want to settle all issues now so there is no difficulty during the implementation process,” Khairkhwa said in a video posted online on Friday.

“If any issue remains unresolved then we will meet after Eid,” the Taliban leader said.

He added that Khalilzad would return to Qatar after Eid for talks, adding that the process would continue until everything was finalized.

Asked how the peace agreement would be signed, Khairkhawa said the two sides would invite witnesses and guarantors, including United Nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation representatives, after finalizing the details of the accord to witness the signing ceremony.

“After we sign the peace deal we will begin formal intra-Afghan dialogue to make decisions about other issues,” the Taliban leader said.

Khalilzad has clarified on several occasions that the US is pursuing a peace accord, not a withdrawal agreement, with the Taliban, adding that peace would also lead to withdrawal of foreign forces.

“Our presence in Afghanistan is conditions-based, and any withdrawal will be conditions-based,” the US envoy recently said.

The Taliban said that several countries, including Uzbekistan, Germany, Norway and China, offered to host intra-Afghan dialogue. However, a final decision about the venue was yet to be taken.

Taliban representatives returned to Qatar Monday morning after a week-long visit to Uzbekistan where they also discussed the idea of holding intra-Afghan dialogue in Samarkand.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the US Javlon Vakhabov said on twitter Mullah Baradar had “confirmed that the next intra-Afghan peace talks will take place in Samarkand.”

Baradar led a 12-member delegation to Uzbekistan where they also met the country’s Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov after 20 years.

The Afghan government showed angry reaction to the Taliban’s Uzbekistan visit.