Senior Taliban leader expected to join talks with U.S. in Qatar shortly

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The peace talks, initially slated for two days, are continuing despite Taliban representatives staging a brief walkout on Friday over differences with U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad. Two senior Taliban officials in Afghanistan who are privy to the negotiations said momentum was building following Thursday's appointment of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as the political leader of the hardline Islamist group. Baradar, released from a prison in Pakistan last year, is expected to fly to Qatar to join the session - a move they believe will be welcomed by a U.S. side keen to talk to senior Taliban figures.