KABUL - The Afghanistan National Front, a coalition of various political parties, on Saturday said it would welcome the setting up of an office by the Taliban for peace talks only when it was confirmed by both the rebels and the Afghan government.
"The National Front has always been in favor of peace talks with the insurgents to bring peace and stability in the country, but the important thing is evolving a mechanism," Faizullah Zaki, a spokesman for the coalition said.

He said the peace talks could be put into practice when the Taliban and the government formally confirmed an address of the militants, he said, adding the two sides had not yet confirmed any office of the Taliban in an Islamic country.

"The stance of the National Front is that the Taliban should have a political address in any of Islamic countries acceptable for both the government and the International Community," he added.

On Thursday, former jihadi leaders and religious scholars who met President Hamid Karzai said the Taliban's office should be established inside Afghanistan and if Afghanistan's security condition remained unfavorable, the office should be set up in Saudi Arabia or Turkey.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it had recalled the Afghan ambassador to Qatar home for consultations, after reports that Doha had agreed to allow the Taliban to open their office there.
The National Front spokesman said peace talks should be UN-led, with regional and other interested countries taking part in the process.