Britain should hold ‘unconditional’ peace talks with Taliban in run-up to Afghan elections, says Williamson
BRITAIN should hold official talks with the Taliban for the first time in order to bring peace to Afghanistan, the Defence Secretary told MPS yesterday.
Gavin Williamson said it was important for the UK to ensure as much stability as possible in Afghanistan, and that Britain was committed to ensuring peaceful elections due later this year.
He admitted it would be “incredibly painful for many people to accept, given the price paid”, but he warned that “there are many malign reasons why some countries are involved in Afghanistan [so it is] important we energise the peace process”.
Speaking to the Commons defence select committee yesterday, he called the offer from the Afghan government for unconditional peace talks with the Taliban “open and generous” and said “we need to find a long-term solution to Afghanistan and bring all participants around a table”.
Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president, said in February he would recognise the Taliban as a legitimate political group as part of efforts to end 16 years of war. A ceasefire and prisoner exchange were also proposed.
“The Taliban are expected to give input to the peacemaking process, the goal of which is to draw the Taliban, as an organisation, to peace talks,” Mr Ghani said at the time.
The Defence Secretary’s comments are the first time a serving Government minister has gone on the record in calling for direct talks with the Taliban.
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said in a statement in March that Mr Ghani’s approach was “clear and flexible” and offered the people of Afghanistan “a road to peace, prosperity and stability”. He said Britain, along with the regional and international community, stood united in support of this determination to bring the violence to an end. “I strongly believe that the only solution to the conflict in Afghanistan is through a political settlement, led and owned by Afghans themselves,” he said. “Afghanistan’s future must be decided through dialogue, not the gun.”
Mr Williamson made the comments on the day that 16 people were killed in an explosion in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, as security forces tried to move a container full of explosives.
Britain, the US and Nato concluded combat operations in Afghanistan in 2014, but have maintained a presence in the country since then in training and mentoring roles.
Afghan forces have struggled to contain a resurgent Taliban threat in recent years. Last week, it was reported that Britain is to send an additional 450 troops to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, to help provide security. However, Mr Williamson refused to say whether or not these troops would be used in a combat role, but promised an oral statement would be made to the House of Commons in the near future.
Britain has never formally held talks with the Taliban, but The Daily Telegraph reported in 2007 that MI6 had been involved in secret talks with the group, then still fighting against British forces.
♦ A surge of high quality cheap Afghan heroin is bound for the world’s streets after the country’s opium crop jumped to record levels, the United Nations has warned.
Afghan farmers grew more than 1,250 sq miles of opium poppy last year, paving the way for potentially unseen levels of heroin production.