WASHINGTON – Washington is hoping for a breakthrough as talks between theUS and the Taliban resumed in Doha on Saturday in a bid to end 18 years ofwar in Afghanistan.
The US, which invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban in 2001, wants towithdraw thousands of troops but only in return for the insurgent grouprenouncing Al-Qaeda and curbing attacks.
Washington is hoping to strike a peace deal with the Taliban by September 1– ahead of Afghan polls due the same month, and US presidential polls duein 2020.
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that”we’ve made a lot of progress. We’re talking”.
A coalition led by Washington ousted the Taliban accusing it of harbouringAl-Qaeda jihadists who claimed the Septmber 11, 2001 attacks against the USthat killed almost 3,000 people.
“We are pursuing a peace agreement not a withdrawal agreement, a peaceagreement that enables withdrawal,” US envoy for Afghanistan ZalmayKhalilzad tweeted on Friday as he arrived in Doha after talks withPakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.
“Our presence in Afghanistan is conditions-based, and any withdrawal willbe conditions-based.”
In another sign of progress, the Afghan government has formed a negotiatingteam for separate peace talks with the Taliban, that diplomats hope couldbe held as early as later this month.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that an initial deal to end the warwould see the US force in Afghanistan reduced to as low as 8,000 from thecurrent level of around 14,000.
In exchange, the Taliban would abide by a ceasefire and renounce Al-Qaeda,the Post reported, citing US officials.
The proposed agreement would also require the Taliban to broker a separatepeace deal with the Afghan government, with which it has so far refused tospeak, Fox News reported.
However, an Afghan official hinted last week that the government ofPresident Ashraf Ghani was preparing for direct talks with the Taliban, thedetails of which have yet to be announced.
Council on Foreign Relations counter-terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman saidthat he doubted the Taliban would ever renounce Al-Qaeda — potentiallyhindering any deal.
– ‘Cruel and oppressive’ –
“I believe that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda will remain joined at the hip,” hetold AFP, questioning the sense of “believing the word of terroristorganisations”.
“The Taliban can negotiate with the United States,” he added but suggestedthat the Taliban would be unlikely to break their personal pledges toAl-Qaeda.
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“It means that Al-Qaeda was going to continue fighting, counting on thatonce the US left Afghanistan it (the US) wasn’t going to come back.
“Al-Qaeda and the Taliban would have free rein. It’s not a far-fetchedassumption.”
The thorny issues of power-sharing with the Taliban, the role of regionalpowers including Pakistan and India, and the fate of Ghani’s administrationalso remain unresolved.
The latest US-Taliban encounter follows last month’s talks betweeninfluential Afghans and the Taliban which agreed a “roadmap for peace” –but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
That gathering, also in Doha, called for a monitored peace process, thereturn of internally displaced people to their homes and non-interferenceby regional powers in Afghanistan.
“Assuring women rights in political, social, economic, educational,cultural affairs as per (and) within the Islamic framework of Islamicvalues,” also featured in the joint text.
Younger Afghans, whose lives have been overshadowed by almost two decadesof war, are sceptical any deal will bring peace.
“We cannot trust the Taliban and their commitments because they were crueland oppressive in their regime,” said Abdul Jamil Qureshi, a 23-year-oldpsychology student at Kabul University.
Apparently believing they have the upper hand in the war, the Taliban havekept up attacks even while talking to the United States and agreeing to theAfghan dialogue.
The United Nations said Saturday that civilian casualty rates acrossAfghanistan jumped back to record levels last month, following a dipearlier in the year.
More than 1,500 civilians were killed or wounded in the conflict in July,the highest monthly toll so far in 2019 and the deadliest single monthsince May 2017.
On Wednesday, at least 34 people were killed in western Afghanistan whentheir bus hit a roadside bomb — blamed by officials on the Taliban.
Most of the dead were women and children. -APP/AFP
