During the negotiations which recently opened in Qatar, the Taliban showed themselves to be open to a possible agreement on the sharing of power in Afghanistan. However, they surprised President Ashraf Ghani by demanding an immediate halt to US night raids, the liberation of prisoners who are being tortured, and the lifting of UN sanctions against their commanders.

The negotiations have been ongoing since the 3rd May 2015, organised by an NGO, the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

The Taliban announced that they intend to reopen the embassy that they had previously opened in Qatar in June 2013, and closed a month later after the abdication of emir Hamad al-Thani. The Taliban delegation declared that they would lay down their arms as soon as foreign troops had left the country. But President Ashraf Ghani intervened to postpone the retreat of United States forces. Last March, he had obtained the continued presence of 10,000 men.