Taliban in talks with US to end 17-year Afghan war
THE Taliban has said it is holding another meeting with US officials in the United Arab Emirates in the latest attempt to negotiate an end to Afghanistan’s 17-year war.
Khalil Minawi, the director of Afghanistan’s state-run Bakhtar news agency, also confirmed the meeting, which will involve Saudi, Pakistani and Emirati representatives.
He said on Twitter that officials from the United States, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UAE had held preliminary meetings on Sunday ahead of “the Pakistani-sponsored Us-taliban meeting”. While Afghan officials were not expected to attend yesterday’s meeting, their presence in the UAE is a significant step in efforts to get the two sides talking.
So far, the Taliban has refused to hold direct talks with the Afghan government, calling it a puppet of America and insisting only on negotiating with the US.
Also significant is the presence of the Saudis and Emiratis, as both have significant influence over the Taliban. The move is apparently geared toward pushing the insurgents toward concessions that could eventually lead to face-to-face talks with Kabul.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan were the only three countries to recognise the Taliban government during its five-year rule, which ended with its removal in 2001.
Washington, meanwhile, has considerable sway over the Afghan government, which it heavily bankrolls. The US has spent $1 trillion in Afghanistan since ousting the Taliban. It is now America’s longest war.
While the US state department has neither denied nor confirmed previous meetings with the Taliban, Washington’s special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad previously said he has held several meetings with all Afghans involved in the protracted conflict – a reference that would include the Taliban, who control or influence nearly half of Afghanistan.
A Taliban statement last month said they held three consecutive days of talks with Mr Khalilzad in Qatar, a Middle East country where the insurgent group maintains a political office.
Afterwards, Mr Khalilzad went to Kabul where he urged Afghan president Ashraf Ghani to cobble together a team that could hold talks with the Taliban with the intent of reaching an agreement on a “roadmap for the future of Afghanistan”.
Mr Khalilzad said he would like to see this agreement reached before Afghan presidential elections, which are scheduled for next April.