KABUL - A delegation of the Hizbi-i-Islami of Afghanistan (HIA), the second largest insurgent group after the Taliban, is expected to arrive in Kabul on Friday for a new round of talks with the Karzai administration.
A knowledgeable source confided to Pajhwok Afghan News on Thursday the five-member HIA delegation would stay in the central capital for three days to meet with government officials.

Led by former prime minister and jihadi commander Gulbadin Hekmayar, the party said in March it was suspending peace talks with the Afghan government and the US because they lacked practical policy.

A statement from the HIA political office in Europe quoted the group spokesman, Qaribur Rahman Saeed, as saying their first contact with the government was made in 2010 and the last on Dec 29, 2011.

The negotiations are expected to resume, as High Peace Council Secretary Aminuddin Muzfari confirmed the HIA team was due to visit Kabul. But he would not go into details.

The Taliban suspended talks with the US, after an American soldier killed 16 civilians, including nine children and two women, diring a shooting spree in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province.

On Wednesday, a diplomat said Washington's important goal was to open the door for talks with the Taliban at a time when considerable progress was being made toward signing the strategic partnership pact with Afghanistan. (Pajhwok)