US moves to kick-start stalled Afghan peace process

THE United States is proposing an interim government in Afghanistan to drive forward the country’s stalled peace process, amid frustration at slow progress in talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

The suggestion by Zalmay Khalilzad, Joe Biden’s special envoy, abandons American assurances that the process should be Afghan-led.

A roadmap, outlined to Afghan leaders by Mr Khalilzad, would involve an international conference similar to that held in Bonn in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban, Afghan officials said.

Taking place in Turkey, possibly under the auspices of the United Nations, it would include key regional powers such as Pakistan and Iran and would focus on setting up a transitional government including the Taliban, as a stepping stone to a political settlement.

The Taliban and the Afghan government were to begin talks towards a settlement soon after Donald Trump ordered troop withdrawals a year ago.

Yet this has not been the case and the US is desperate to advance the process before its troops leave and the country faces the possibility of another civil war.

Mr Khalilzad said he had “discussed various options/alternatives to propel the process forward” on a three-day visit to Kabul this week.

Both the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, and the Taliban have in the past rejected an interim government.

Many Afghans feel it would be used to discard the country’s fragile democracy and install a gallery of warlords and strongmen.