Deadline set to get dealwith Taliban
London – The leaders of Britain, Afghanistan and Pakistan today pushed for the Taliban to come to the table for peace talks to end Afghanistan’s protracted conflict and gave themselves a six-month deadline to get a deal.
British Prime Minister David Cameron hosted Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari for trilateral talks on Afghanistan’s floundering peace and reconciliation process.
Attempts at peace have faltered even as international forces prepare to withdraw from the country next year. Karzai is trying to draw the Taliban back to negotiations toward a deal between the government and the insurgency.
As part of the effort, the three leaders agreed to open an office in Qatar’s capital for negotiations, believing that the Taliban are softening their hardline stance against discussions.
The leaders set out a six-month timeline for peace and committed themselves to ‘‘take all necessary measures to achieve the goal,’’ Cameron’s office said following the talks.
Earlier, Karzai told The Guardian newspaper and ITV News that security in the southern Helmand province was better before the arrival of British troops, saying it was possible Western forces were being drawn down in Afghanistan because international leaders realised ‘‘they were fighting in the wrong place’’ and that he expected fighting to diminish once Nato forces withdrew.
Karzai said Helmand province, where the United States-led coalition has lost more soldiers than anywhere else, was more peaceful before British troops arrived in 2006, but that he did not want to lay blame.
‘‘Whatever happened was the past, and now we are looking forward to the future.’’
Karzai said the greatest threat to his country’s prospects was foreign meddling, but that he was more optimistic than a year ago that behind-the-scenes discussions between his government and the Taliban would prove fruitful, as relations with Pakistan improved.
The Afghan Government has previously expressed support for the opening of an office in Qatar, but only if the Taliban publicly say they will use it to talk solely with the Afghan High Peace Council, which is responsible for talks with the Taliban insurgency.
So far, the Taliban have resisted, although officials close to the Afghan president say privately that they appear to be opening up to the possibility.