Afghans are wary of Taleban talks

kabul — Afghans are wary of peace talks with Taleban militants, even as the country’s president expressed hope that US-led negotiations could successfully end the long-running civil war.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on Monday there had been “agreements in principle” towards a framework for peace with the Taleban. The militant group now controls almost half of Afghanistan and carries out attacks on an almost daily basis, mainly targeting security forces and government officials. Nawid, a 21-year-old student, said that after so many years of violence, “peace will be meaningless.” Nawid lost his brother and was himself wounded in a deadly Taleban suicide attack in the capital, Kabul, earlier this month. Four people were killed and 113 others were wounded in the attack, according to security officials.

Khalilzad has held several rounds of negotiations with the Taleban in recent months. The Taleban refuse to meet directly with the Afghan government, which they view as a US puppet. Faridoon Khwazoon, a deputy spokesman to Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, said Khalilzad is briefing the government on all the developments in the talks.

“Right now peace talks are going on with full intensity,” said Khwazoon. “We are getting closer to the peace talks and we hope to witness direct peace talks between armed Taleban and the government.” President Ashraf Ghani, in a televised address Monday, sought to reassure Afghans that no deals would be made without Kabul’s awareness and full participation. “Our commitment is to provide peace and to prevent any possible disaster,” Ghani said. “There are values that are not disputable, such as national unity, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Afghan analyst Shadi Khan Saif says rural Afghans “simply want peace.”—

We made progress on vital issues in our discussions and agreed to agreements in principle on a couple of very important issues

Zalmay Khalilzad, US envoy