Pakistan News Service

Thursday Aug 19, 2021, Muharram 10, 1443 Hijri
Logo
LATEST :
Pakistan News Home -> Afghanistan -> News Details

Taliban talks likely to continue despite Doha office row

10 July, 2013

DOHA: Despite a row over the Taliban's office in Qatar, talks on their future role in Afghanistan are eventually likely to resume in what is expected to be a difficult and unpredictable peace process, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.

They were responding to reports that the Taliban had closed their office in Doha, the Qatari capital, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai objected to their raising a flag and giving it a nameplate that suggested they wanted to set up a government-in-exile.

"Because of the arguments around the office, it hasn't really been used, but people are still willing to find a way forward," said one western diplomat.

Another diplomat said it was reasonable to assume that those involved in the talks process were still keen to make progress despite the row over the office, which opened just last month.

"It has never been used. That's not to say people don't talk," the western diplomat added.

The office is meant to allow the Taliban to negotiate a political settlement with the Afghan government, though the insurgents say they would rather talk directly to the United States who they see as the main power broker in Afghanistan.

Supported by Pakistan, the talks with the Taliban are part of a much broader process to seek peace in Afghanistan as the United States and its allies prepare to pull out most combat troops by the end of 2014.

That process also includes: diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan; preparations for next year's presidential election in Afghanistan; and talks between Washington and Kabul on retaining some US troops after 2014.

The New York Times this week quoted US and European officials as saying President Barack Obama was also considering a "zero option" under which no US troops would be left behind in Afghanistan after the end of 2014.

The talks with the Taliban – held intermittently behind-the-scenes for several years by various countries including the United States – are meant to find a way of bringing the insurgents back into the Afghan political process.

Believed to have the endorsement of the Taliban leadership, they were expected to pave the way for an exchange of prisoners as an initial confidence-building measure, according to diplomats. Among those would be five Taliban prisoners held by the United States at its prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Three senior members of the Afghan Taliban told Reuters they had not closed their office in Qatar but suspended talks and removed their flag from the building after differences emerged between the US and the Afghan government over the proposed negotiations.

"We wanted direct talks with the US whereas the Afghan government has been planning to hold negotiation with us, which is not acceptable to us," a senior Taliban commander said.

Pakistani and Afghan officials had no immediate comment on newspaper reports that Pakistan and Afghanistan were preparing to resume talks after a bitter row over the Doha office.

Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of backing the Taliban; in turn Pakistani officials complain that Karzai is impeding the peace process for fear of losing his authority.

Pakistani newspapers have reported that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser on foreign affairs and national security, Sartaj Aziz, would soon visit Kabul, though dates have yet to be fixed.

The western diplomat said it was a positive sign that the two neighbours were planning talks.

Meanwhile, another Taliban spokesman said that the group had temporarily closed the Qatar office over "broken promises".

"We have temporarily closed the Qatar office due to broken promises," a Pakistan-based Taliban official, who declined to be named, told AFP by telephone.

"We are not happy with the Americans, the Kabul government and all parties who have not been honest with us," he said, giving no further details.

The latest setback came as Afghan officials said a Taliban-planted bomb in the western province of Herat killed 17 civilians, and an Afghan soldier shot dead a Slovakian soldier at Kandahar airfield.

The mounting obstacles to any future peace negotiations follow the New York Times reporting that the US was seriously considering speeding up the withdrawal of its forces because of frustration with President Karzai.

Scores of foreign soldiers have been killed in insider attacks in Afghanistan, breeding fierce mistrust and threatening to derail the training of local forces to take over security duties ahead of NATO's withdrawal.

The threat has become so serious that foreign soldiers working with Afghan forces are regularly watched over by so-called "guardian angel" troops to provide protection from their supposed allies.

In recent weeks, the insurgents have accelerated their campaign of suicide attacks and roadside bombs against Afghan officials and Afghan and US-led NATO troops. The ministry of interior said that 300 police officers were killed in the last month, as Afghan security forces increasingly take on frontline duties fighting the Taliban.

End.

 What do you think about the story ? Leave your comments!

Heading (Optional)
Your Comments: *

Your Name:*
E-mail (Optional):
City (Optional):
Country (Optional):
 
 
Field marked(*) are mandatory.
Note. The PakTribune will publish as many comments as possible but cannot guarantee publication of all. PakTribune keeps its rights reserved to edit the comments for reasons of clarity, brevity and morality. The external links like http:// https:// etc... are not allowed for the time being to be posted inside comments to discourage spammers.

  Speak Out View All
Military Courts
Imran - Qadri long march
 
Candid Corner
Exclusive by
Lt. Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
Pakistan itself a victim of state-sponsored terrorism: Qamar Bajwa
Should You Try Napping During the Workday?
Suggested Sites