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Afghanistan and Taliban peace talks end with promise to meet again Afghanistan and Taliban peace talks end with promise to meet again
(35 minutes later)
One-day peace talks between Afghan officials and Taliban representatives ended with both sides agreeing to meet again after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Wednesday. Afghan officials and Taliban representatives will resume talks in Pakistan after the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Pakistan’s foreign office has said, following a groundbreaking meeting on Tuesday.
The ministry said in a statement the talks were held Tuesday at Murree, a hill resort near Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. Representatives of China and the United States were also present during the meeting, it said. Representatives of China and the US also took part in discussions in the popular hill town resort of Murree, which is an hour’s drive from the capital Islamabad.
Participants exchanged views on ways to bring peace and reconciliation to Afghanistan, where fighting has continued since the Taliban was removed from power by US-led forces in 2001. Since taking office in September, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has made it a priority to find a peace settlement. A statement by the Pakistani foreign ministry said both sides “were duly mandated by their respective leadership and expressed their collective desire to bring peace to Afghanistan and the region”.
Both sides “expressed their collective desire to bring peace to Afghanistan and the region,” the ministry statement said. “Participants recognized the need to develop confidence-building measures to engender trust among all stakeholders.” Doubts had been raised about the value of a Pakistani-brokered meeting held between the two sides in the Chinese city of Urumqi in May after a Taliban spokesman said the militants involved had not been officially authorised to talk.
The next meeting would be held at a mutually convenient date after Ramadan ends later this month, it said. Related: Afghan delegation travels to Pakistan for first known talks with Taliban
Tuesday’s talks came after repeated informal meetings between Taliban and government representatives, most recently hosted by Qatar and Norway. The talks were the first formally acknowledged by the Afghan government; that and the semi-public nature of the talks suggested possible progress after years of frustration in trying to bring the two sides together. The Taliban have so far refused to comment on reports of the Tuesday meeting, which began with an iftar – the sunset meal when Muslims break their Ramadan fast – and continued until the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Previous efforts to start a dialogue stalled, however, largely due the lack of trust and confidence between the two sides. “The participants agreed to continue talks to create an environment conducive for peace and reconciliation process,” the statement said.
Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, Tuesday night called the holding of the talks “a major breakthrough” in comments recorded for Pakistani TV from the Norwegian capital Oslo, where he is on a three-day visit. In the past, the Taliban have refused face-to-face meetings with what they call Afghanistan’s “puppet” government, insisting they would only negotiate with the US.
He said the overtness of the meeting was a positive development. “I hope there will be a positive outcome which will certainly be very helpful for peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he said. Although the Tuesday meeting was held under the auspices of the high peace council, a body established to operate at arm’s length to the government, the delegation included Hekmat Karzai, Afghanistan’s deputy foreign minister and nephew of former president Hamid Karzai.
Ghani’s office announced Tuesday that a delegation from the government’s High Peace Council traveled to Islamabad to hold the talks. One official from the council said the government representatives included Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai. A Pakistani official said both sides accepted the need for “confidence-building measures”.
Ghani said the talks aim to “change this meeting into a process of continuing talks,” as well as to build trust and to develop the agenda for any negotiations, according to a statement by his office. The government of the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, has been anxious to secure ceasefires with the insurgents. The involvement of both Chinese and US diplomats underlines the powerful international consensus over the need for a political deal in Afghanistan. China is worried about the Islamist insurgencies in Pakistan and Afghanistan spilling over into its western province of Xinjiang, home to a restive Muslim Uighur population.
The president has sought Pakistan’s help in bringing the Taliban to negotiations, since it is a traditional ally of the group. Still, Islamabad’s hosting of the talks raises suspicion among some Afghan politicians, who believe Pakistan is aiming to wield dominance over their country. There are also concerns in the US about the country’s long-term ability to sustain the billions of dollars needed to prop up Afghanistan’s outsized security forces as it struggles to cope with a raging Taliban-led insurgency.
Nasrullah Sadieqizada, an Afghan parliament member, called the talks “Pakistani propaganda.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest welcomed the Murree meeting as an “an important step toward advancing prospects for a credible peace”.
However, the White House hailed the talks and praised the Pakistani government for helping facilitate the meeting. The other country that will be vital to the success of any peace process is Pakistan, which many Afghans believe remains wedded to its long-held policy of allowing the Taliban to operate freely in its territory in order to destabilise a troublesome neighbour.
“This is an important step in advancing prospects for a credible peace,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. “The United States commends the government of Afghanistan’s prioritization of peace and reconciliation efforts with the Taliban.” Pakistan insists it is committed to peace. In May, the country’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, publicly assured Ghani that “the enemies of Afghanistan cannot be friends of Pakistan”.
That Tuesday’s talks were held in Pakistan and with the apparent support of the Taliban’s leadership could relieve some of the political pressure on the Afghan president, who has been severely criticised at home for his attempts to cultivate Pakistan with a series of concessions that would have been unthinkable under his predecessor.
Analysts warn a deal with the Taliban may not end the bloodshed in Afghanistan given the movement is increasingly split, with a homegrown branch of Islamic State attracting defectors from other militant groups.
Taliban field commanders are also said to be resentful of political figures within the movement who do not share the hardships of the frontline. Whereas some in the movement are keen to strike a deal with the Afghan government, many fighters are said to believe a military victory against the government is increasingly possible given the continuing withdrawal of US forces.