Taliban say peace talks in Pak postponed
KABUL: The Taliban has postponed an unscheduled round of peace talks with the United States set for Monday in Pakistan, saying “most” members of their negotiating team are unable to travel because they’re on the US and United Nations’ blacklists.
The statement on Sunday offered no other details. It did not explain how several members previously were able to travel to meetings in the United Arab Emirates and Moscow.
The Taliban maintain a political office in Qatar, where members of the negotiating team reside. The Islamabad talks were seen as significant, coinciding with the visit of the Saudi crown prince to Pakistan.
The Taliban 14-member team includes five former inmates of the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, and Anas Haqqani, the jailed younger brother of the leader of the militant Haqqani network.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid had announced last week that talks with the US will take place in Pakistan’s capital, where they will also meet Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“The Islamic Emirate had arranged for their representatives to participate but unfortunately, most members of the negotiations team were unable to travel due to the US and UN blacklist and the meeting was postponed,” the Taliban said in the statement.
Security officials said that some of the members of the Taliban were still under sanctions but it was not the sole reason for the delay.
They said Afghanistan was not comfortable with these talks and the delay in the arrival of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman visit was another reason.
The next r ound of t al ks between the group and US will be held on February 25 in Doha as panned earlier.
Last month, the two sides held detailed talks and there were indications that they have come closer to ending more than 17 years of conflict in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry reacted strongly to the announcement of a meeting in Islamabad, saying it was in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution. Afghanistan launched a similar complaint against Russia for allowing Taliban members to travel to Moscow for a conference.