U.S. shakes up Afghan picture
Proposal includes interim power-sharing with the Taliban
WASHINGTON — Worried that Afghan peace talks are going nowhere, and facing a May 1 deadline for the possible withdrawal of all U.S. troops, the Biden administration has proposed plans for an interim power-sharing government between the Taliban and Afghan leaders, and stepped-up involvement by Afghanistan’s neighbors — including Iran — in the peace process.
Along with the proposal, shared with both sides over the past week by U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani that a U.S. departure remains under consideration and could lead to “rapid territorial gains” by the Taliban.
“I am making this clear to you so that you understand the urgency of my tone,” Blinken wrote in a three-page letter to Ghani sent to coincide with the proposal.
Biden administration officials refused to confirm or deny the specifics of the interim plan or the Blinken letter.
The letter and the eightpage plan for an interim government were published Sunday by Afghanistan’s Tolo News.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity about the sensitive diplomacy, declined to speak “to particular documents people have been discussing in the context of diplomatic conversations that should remain private.”
But “it’s important for both sides to understand the urgency of the situation, both the Afghan government and the Taliban,” the official said. “We inherited a diplomatic process and an agreement” and are trying “to resolve these outstanding issues.”
Ghani and the Taliban have made noncommittal public statements as word of the plan has leaked in recent days. Ghani, who met with Khalilzad during a three-day visit to Kabul last week, on Saturday reiterated his opposition to any transfer of power except through elections but did not reject the interim notion outright.
Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha, Qatar, said the group had received a copy of the plan “that the media is talking about.”
“It is under discussion [and] after discussion, we will have a position on it,” he said.
The Taliban has expanded its attacks on Afghan troops and territorial control amid an increasing number of strikes against civilians.
At the top of the U.S. list of outstanding issues is whether to bring home the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by May 1, a deadline set in an agreement signed by the Taliban and the Trump administration more than a year ago that led to rapid American downsizing.
The Pentagon has said the Taliban has not complied with its commitments under the deal, including breaking its ties with al-Qaida and reducing the level of violence. Start-and-stop Afghan-Taliban talks, called for in the agreement, began in September in Doha but have shown little progress.
In his letter to Ghani, Blinken requested the Afghan president’s “urgent leadership … in the coming weeks … . We have reached an initial conclusion that the best way to advance our shared interests is to do all we can to accelerate peace talks and to bring all parties into compliance with their commitments.”
In addition to the interim government proposal being shared by Khalilzad, Blinken wrote, “To move matters more fundamentally and quickly toward a settlement and a permanent and comprehensive cease-fire, we are immediately pursuing a high-level diplomatic effort,” including a request to the United Nations to convene a meeting among foreign ministers of regional countries and the United States.
Invitees, Blinken wrote, would include China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Russia. “It is my belief that these countries share an abiding common interest in a stable Afghanistan and must work together if we are to succeed,” he said.
Blinken also said the United States would ask Turkey to host a senior-level meeting between the Taliban and the Afghan government “in the coming weeks.”
The United States, Blinken wrote, has prepared “a revised proposal for a 90-day Reduction in Violence, which is intended to prevent a Spring Offensive by the Taliban” and to coincide with diplomatic peace efforts.
The proposal published by Tolo News, dated Feb. 28, has a number of bracketed items, including the “[xx] months” an interim government would be in place. Under a section titled “Guiding Principles,” it states that Islam will be Afghanistan’s official religion, with a new High Council of Islamic Jurisprudence to provide guidance to all levels of government, although an independent judiciary would have the last word.
Once a peace agreement is signed, “each side shall immediately announce and implement [within xx hours] an end to all military and offensive operations and hostile activities against the other,” the proposal says. A joint commission from each side, with three independent international observers, would provide written rules and monitoring.
At the top of the U.S. list of outstanding issues is whether to bring home the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by May 1, a deadline set in an agreement signed by the Taliban and the Trump administration more than a year ago that led to rapid American downsizing.