KABUL—Deadly violence in Afghanistan has marred the first-ever direct talks between Kabul and the Taliban, underscoring the high stakes that face the warring sides as they struggle to get negotiations off the ground to end nearly two decades of fighting.
Representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban kicked off a historic first round of U.S.-brokered talks in Qatar’s capital nearly two weeks backago. But as the two teams wrangle over the agenda and framework for talks that are likely to drag out for months, if not…