Afghan government to create a council of senior political leaders who will appoint negotiators and create their mandate for talks. The council is led by President Ashraf Ghani and composed of both current and former senior government officials and leaders of political parties and opposition groups The council created a platform to bridge rifts that benefit the Taliban. Informal meeting with the Taliban in Qatar, seen as an icebreaker. The meeting is set for mid-April and expected to be attended by more than a hundred Afghans with an intention for trust-building measure.