The first round of face-to-face talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government under the mediation of Islamabad was held in Pakistan in July 2015.

The two day meeting in Doha organised by the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs gave them an opportunity to express their views about the future of Afghanistan.

Many suspect that Taliban could reappear on the negotiating table as factional infighting and leadership division has deepened in the group since the death of Omar.

Last year, a similar event organized by Pugwash was also attended by Afghan officials, though they came in a personal capacity and didn't represent the government. It borders Pakistan and grows opium, the raw material for most of the world's heroin.

There is no official word from Kabul, however, on who attended the Qatar dialogue, nor have the organizers issued a concluding statement about the deliberations.

In 2010 Afghanistan said the United Nations had agreed to remove some Taliban members who renounced ties to al Qaeda from the U.N. blacklist on a "gradual" basis to try and help Afghan efforts to engage some insurgents in talks.

The militant group emphasised a hardline stance on talks aimed at ending its 14-year insurgency, ruling out negotiations until Taliban preconditions were met. "Before any official talks, we want names of our mujahedeen to be removed from United Nations and USA blacklists and all bounties on their heads be cancelled", Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, listing the group's demands at the Qatar conference. "Without them, progress towards peace is not feasible".

He said the Taliban was committed to civil activities such as freedom of speech and women's rights "in the light of Islamic rules, national interests and values".

A suicide bomber struck the minibus with workers from Tolo TV, owned by the private Moby Group, the country's biggest media organisation.

Citing an NDS statement, TOLO News reports that the eight Haqqani Network terrorists, who were arrested in connection to the attack, plotted the deadly assault.

During the meeting, Biden reaffirmed U.S. support for reconciliation and improved bilateral ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The suicide attack in Kabul on a bus carrying Tolo staff home occurred less than four months after the Taliban vowed to kill Tolo TV employees for reporting on Taliban atrocities in the northern Afghanistan town of Kunduz.