Kabul, Taliban resolve key issues to proceed with talks
Over the last 6 months, militants have carried out ‘dozens of atacks across the country, including 50 suicide atacks in which over 1,200 civilians have been killed,’ reveals ministry
The Afghan government and the Taliban have resolved key sticking points that had stalled peace talks for weeks, several sources said on Friday, clearing the way for negotiations to move forward.
Talks started Sept.12 in the Qatari capital Doha but almost immediately faltered over disagreements about the agenda, the basic framework of discussions and religious interpretations.
However following days of sideline discussions, it appears negotiators have now cleared the way for full peace talks to get underway.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Taliban leader based in Pakistan said that “sufficient progress” been made.
“We are close to an announcement and initiation of formal talks,” he said.
“A joint statement will be issued soon,” he added, saying the announcement could come in the next few days.
A second Taliban source in Pakistan confirmed that both sides have agreed on the basic rules to begin formal talks.
A third source close to the Taliban also confirmed the development. An Afghan official close to negotiators in Doha said that both teams have now resolved several disputed issues, opening the path for talks to begin.
Several members of the Afghan government’s negotiating team recently returned to Kabul for final consultations, ater which President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who is heading the peace process for Kabul, are expected to announce a breakthrough, the official said.
Among the sticking points so far, the Taliban and the Afghan government have struggled to agree on common language on two main issues.
The Taliban are insisting on adherence to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, but government negotiators say this could be used to discriminate against Hazaras, who are predominantly Shiite, and other minorities.
Another contentious topic is how the USTaliban deal will shape a future peace deal and how it will be referred to.
The Doha peace talks opened ater the Taliban and Washington signed a deal in February, with the US agreeing to withdraw all foreign forces in exchange for security guarantees and a Taliban promise to start talks.
Despite the talks, violence has surged across Afghanistan, with the Taliban stepping up daily atacks against Afghan security forces.
Officials said Taliban has staged atacks in at least 50 districts across 16 Afghan provinces following the signing of the peace deal and most of these took place in the last two months ater negotiations began in Qatar on Sept.12.
The sources said on Thursday that the provinces comprised Uruzgan, Kandahar, Helmand, Farah, Nimroz, Herat, Badghis, Faryab, Jawzjan, Sar-e-pul, Balkh, Samangan, Baghlan, Kunduz, Takhar and Badakhshan, reports TOLO News.
Clashes between the Taliban and security forces were still ongoing in Uruzgan’s Gizab and Khas districts, considered as two of the most sensitive.
Data from the Ministries of Defence and Interior Affairs revealed that over the last six months, the Taliban has carried “dozens of atacks across the country, including 50 suicide atacks in which over 1,200 civilians have been killed.”
“In cooperation with the foreign terrorists, they (Taliban) staged major offensives, but the brave members of the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces retaliated to these atacks with full force,” TOLO Nes quoted Rohullah Ahmadzai, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry, as saying.
“Some 1,210 civilians were killed and 2,500 more were wounded in Taliban atacks,” said Tariq Arian, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior Affairs.
The Taliban were yet to comment on the report. President Donald Trump’s decision at his administration’s sunset to pull back US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq is among his final atempts to keep his original campaign promise, but creates a policy vacuum and complicates the transition to Democrat Joe Biden in January.
Acting Defence Secretary Christopher Miller’s announcement that the US troop strengths in those two countries would be reduced to 2,500 each by Jan.15 just five days before Biden takes over creates a policy vacuum there.