The negotiations are expected to be a difficult process as the two sides struggle to end the fighting KABUL: Long-delayed peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators will begin Saturday in Qatar, officials and the insurgent group announced Thursday. "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would like to declare its readiness to take part in the inauguration ceremony of the intra-Afghan negotiations that shall be held in Qatar on September 12," the Taliban said in a statement. The presidential palace said government negotiators would head to Doha on Friday to participate in the talks. Talks were originally supposed to start in March but were repeatedly delayed as the Taliban and the Afghan government completed a prisoner exchange. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the announcement, urging both sides not to squander the "historic opportunity" and calling for negotiators to demonstrate the "pragmatism, restraint and flexibility the process will require to succeed." The deal aims to end Afghanistan’s protracted war and bring American troops home while the intra-Afghan talks are to set a road map for a post-war society in Afghanistan. The negotiations are expected to be a difficult process as the two sides struggle to end the fighting and debate ways of protecting the rights of women and minorities. The fate of the tens of thousands of armed Taliban, as well as militias loyal to government-allied warlords, will also be on the agenda, along with constitutional changes for Afghanistan. Washington"s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who negotiated the US-Taliban deal signed on Feb. 29, has been in Doha for the past week, trying to push the talks forward. The withdrawal of US troops are not dependent on the success of the negotiations but rather on commitments taken by the Talian under the deal with the US to fight other militant groups, most specifically Daesh, and to ensure that Afghanistan is not used as a staging ground for attacks on the US or its allies. Washington and NATO have already begun withdrawing troops and by November America expects to have less than 5,000 troops still in Afghanistan.