<p>Afghan authorities lambasted the Taliban Wednesday for failing to actively participate in peace talks seeking to end the country's long-running war.</p>.<p>Following months of deliberations and a first round that failed to achieve any major breakthrough, the Afghan government and Taliban are meeting again in Qatar -- but so far only discussing the agenda for round two.</p>.<p>"Unfortunately, the talks are going at a snail's pace," Waheed Omar, media adviser to President Ashraf Ghani told reporters.</p>.<p>"The Taliban have no clear vision. We see no changes in them."</p>.<p>Kabul is pushing for a permanent ceasefire and to protect governance arrangements in place since the ouster of the Taliban by a US-led invasion following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.</p>.<p>But since the second round of talks began on January 6 in Doha there has been no significant announcement about how negotiations were proceeding.</p>.<p>The talks have been marred by a surge in violence, with a recent spate of high-profile killings of officials, judges, journalists and activists leaving the war-weary country reeling.</p>.<p>Omar said there was no plan to release more Taliban prisoners to help spur the talks along, saying the government's previous experience of releasing insurgents failed to reduce fighting.</p>.<p>"The Taliban not only did not reduce the violence, but they increased the violence," Omar said.</p>.<p>Before the start of the peace talks on September 12, authorities released more than 5,000 Taliban inmates as demanded by the group in a deal with Washington last year.</p>.<p>In return, the Taliban agreed to give some security guarantees and participate in peace talks aimed at ending the country's war.</p>.<p>Under the landmark deal signed last year, the US pledged to pull out all foreign forces from Afghanistan by May 2021.</p>.<p>Both the Taliban and the Afghan government are anxiously awaiting President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration and any new policy directions from the incoming administration.</p>
<p>Afghan authorities lambasted the Taliban Wednesday for failing to actively participate in peace talks seeking to end the country's long-running war.</p>.<p>Following months of deliberations and a first round that failed to achieve any major breakthrough, the Afghan government and Taliban are meeting again in Qatar -- but so far only discussing the agenda for round two.</p>.<p>"Unfortunately, the talks are going at a snail's pace," Waheed Omar, media adviser to President Ashraf Ghani told reporters.</p>.<p>"The Taliban have no clear vision. We see no changes in them."</p>.<p>Kabul is pushing for a permanent ceasefire and to protect governance arrangements in place since the ouster of the Taliban by a US-led invasion following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.</p>.<p>But since the second round of talks began on January 6 in Doha there has been no significant announcement about how negotiations were proceeding.</p>.<p>The talks have been marred by a surge in violence, with a recent spate of high-profile killings of officials, judges, journalists and activists leaving the war-weary country reeling.</p>.<p>Omar said there was no plan to release more Taliban prisoners to help spur the talks along, saying the government's previous experience of releasing insurgents failed to reduce fighting.</p>.<p>"The Taliban not only did not reduce the violence, but they increased the violence," Omar said.</p>.<p>Before the start of the peace talks on September 12, authorities released more than 5,000 Taliban inmates as demanded by the group in a deal with Washington last year.</p>.<p>In return, the Taliban agreed to give some security guarantees and participate in peace talks aimed at ending the country's war.</p>.<p>Under the landmark deal signed last year, the US pledged to pull out all foreign forces from Afghanistan by May 2021.</p>.<p>Both the Taliban and the Afghan government are anxiously awaiting President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration and any new policy directions from the incoming administration.</p>