KABUL – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of peace talks to Taliban has left the militant group in silence reflecting that an internal debate over the cons and pros of engaging with Kabul administration was underway.
President Ghani had asked the Taliban to join the political process offering that their office could be opened in Kabul as well following which Taliban posted a statement and an unsigned commentary on its Alemarah website.
The statement reiterated that Taliban were prepared to negotiate, but only with Washington – not with Kabul – referring to Ghani’s government as the ‘slave regime’ of the ‘American invaders’.
The remarks follow a statement released last week where the Taliban described the Afghan government as “illegitimate” and its peace process efforts as “deceptive”.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/pakistan-fund-crunch-crippling-indian-army/
The message, that did not signal the acceptance or rejection of the peace offer also called for a boycott of an Islamic scholars’ conference in Jakarta set to discuss peace prospects in Afghanistan.
A senior figure in the Taliban leadership council known as the Quetta Shura confirmed the militants were not treating Ghani’s peace plan “seriously”, however, political observers are of the view that a blatant refusal to talk to Ghani administration would give Afghan and US forces justification to intensify air strikes against the militants.
On the other hand, acceptance would undermine the group’s long-held position that the Afghan government was a puppet of the United States.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/ashraf-ghani-calls-on-pakistan-for-fresh-high-level-talks/
Let it be known that Washington and Kabul seem to be extra serious this time by extending peace offer to the militant group.
Last month, Ghani expressed his readiness to initiate negotiations with Taliban for a durable peace in war-ravaged Afghanistan.
The Afghan president asserted that ceasefire must be agreed upon with the Taliban adding that peace needs to be sought with the Taliban in order for them to become a political group.
“The Afghan government must be accepting and we will also work on the list of freeing Taliban prisoners”, he opined as he opened the second Kabul Process meeting in the Afghan capital.
Moreover, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis expressed that the United States was picking up signs of interest from Taliban in exploring the possibility of talks to put an end to the war started in 2001.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/picking-up-afghan-taliban-interest-in-peace-talks-says-jim-mattis-amid-surprise-kabul-tour/
“We’ve had some groups of Taliban who have either started to come over or expressed an interest in talking,” he claimed as he landed in Afghanistan, signalling a shift in US policy.
The militant group and the government of President Ashraf Ghani are invited to attend the March 26-27 meeting in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, to look for ways to ensure peace in Afghanistan, however, Taliban have made no application to attend the event.
