Pompeo in Kabul in effort to rescue Taliban deal
MIKE POMPEO, the US secretary of state, made an urgent visit to Kabul yesterday to try to move forward a Ustaliban agreement, amid fears deadlock over Afghanistan’s election results will thwart any chance of peace.
The trip, at a time when global leaders are focusing on the coronavirus pandemic, highlighted Washington’s concerns about the lack of progress since last month’s agreement.
The deal set out a US withdrawal in return for Taliban negotiations with the Afghan government to find a political settlement to the country’s fourdecade conflict. Yet hopes of quick talks between the sides have been blocked by a row over whether Kabul would release Taliban prisoners ahead of talks, as well as the fall-out from last year’s disputed presidential election.
Ashraf Ghani, the incumbent, was declared the winner of a second term following a drawn-out and contested voting process, only for his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, to reject the result. Both men have held inaugurations and the stand-off has paralysed the system.
“We are in a crisis,” a State Department official said. “The fear is that unless this crisis gets resolved and resolved soon, that could affect the peace process, which was an opportunity for this country ... [after] this 40-year-long war. And our agreement with the Taliban could be put at risk.”
Violence has also escalated as Kabul and the Taliban have argued over whether the agreement included the release of 5,000 militant prisoners.