Taliban leader ‘favours political settlement’

KABUL: The Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said yesterday he “strenuously favours” a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan even as the movement has launched a sweeping offensive across the nation.

The announcement comes as representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents sat down for a new round of talks in Doha over the weekend, stirring hopes that the long stalled peace talks were being resuscitated.

“In spite of the military gains and advances”, Hibatullah said, the Taliban “strenuously favours a political settlement in the country”.

“Every opportunity for peace and security that presents itself will be made use of.”

For months, the two sides have been meeting on and off in the Qatari capital, but have achieved little if any notable success, with the discussions appearing to have lost momentum as the Taliban made enormous gains on the battlefield.

Hibatullah said his group remained committed to forging a solution to end the war but slammed “the opposition parties” for “wasting time”.

“Our message remains that instead of relying on foreigners, let us resolve our issues among ourselves and rescue our homeland from the prevailing crisis.”

The insurgents have capitalised on the last stages of the withdrawal of US and other foreign troops from Afghanistan to launch a series of lightning offensives across large swathes of the country.

The group is now believed to control roughly half of the nation’s 400 districts, several important border crossings, and have laid siege to a string of vital provincial capitals.

With rumours of splits among Taliban’s leadership, questions remain over how firm of a hand its leaders have with commanders on the ground and whether they will be able to convince them to abide by a potential agreement if signed.