The Afghan government will disclose a list of delegates for the peace negotiating team once the US and the Taliban finalize their peace deal, according to the Presidential Palace.

The delegation will represent the government of Afghanistan and it will be introduced simultaneously with the start of the intra-Afghan talks, TOLO News reported.

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Durani Jawed Waziri, the deputy spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, said “We are ready to introduce and send our peace negotiating team when they (the Taliban) reach a final conclusion with the US and show their readiness to speak with the Afghan people”.

Meanwhile, Jalaluddin Shinwari, a former Taliban member, said that the group has agreed on a week-long ceasefire with the US on condition that an agreement is signed between the two sides.

The Taliban is yet to make an official announcement on the ceasefire development.

According to report on Friday, the date for the signing of a peace agreement between the US and the Taliban will be announced within the next few days, after which the two sides will start discussions on the intra-Afghan talks.

Earlier in September, Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation had said that the US and Taliban are “at the threshold of an agreement” that would reduce violence and open the door for Afghans to sit together and negotiate.

On December 19, Khalilzad also said that the US and Taliban were approaching an important stage in the Afghan peace process.

In August, peace talks between Washington and the Taliban had to reach a deal on the withdrawal of thousands of American troops collapsed after President Trump cited an attack that killed a US soldier as his reason for pulling out of negotiations. The talks did not include the Afghan government.

The Taliban had never agreed to end their violent campaign against Afghan and foreign forces while negotiations were taking place. Sixteen US troops have been killed this year.

In 2001, US-led forces overthrew the Taliban government in Afghanistan because the militants had given safe haven to the Al-Qaeda network to plan the attacks on the US on September 11.

According to the statistics from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 2018 was the deadliest year on record for the Afghan conflict, with a total of 10,993 civilian casualties, including 3,804 civilian deaths.