ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – Afghan Taliban strongly rejects US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo’s statement.
The Taliban rejected charges Tuesday by the United States that theinsurgent group lacks “will or capacity or both” to take steps needed toadvance turbulent negotiations between the two foes aimed at ending the warin Afghanistan.
The rebuttal came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded“demonstrable evidence” from the Taliban it would lower the level of Afghanviolence before reaching a peace deal.
“We got close once before to having an agreement: a piece of paper that wemutually executed and the Taliban were unable to demonstrate either theirwill or capacity or both to deliver on a reduction in violence,” Pompeotold reporters on Monday during his visit to Uzbekistan, which bordersAfghanistan.
But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Tuesday criticized Pompeo’sremarks and in turn accused Washington of harming the Afghan peace process.[image: Zabihullah Mujahid]
“Mr. Pompeo should refrain from blame-shifting. Our stance is principledand concerted — unlike them [U.S.],” Mujahid said in a statement sent toreporters.
U.S. and Taliban representatives have been holding meetings in Qatar formore than a year, trying to negotiate a peace deal that would end what nowhas become America’s longest war.
If signed, the U.S.-Taliban pact could begin a gradual withdrawal ofAmerican troops from the country and open Taliban-Afghan negotiations on apermanent cease-fire and power-sharing in post-war Afghanistan.
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But the dialogue process has suffered repeated setbacks in recent months.
President Donald Trump last September abruptly called off talks with theTaliban via a Twitter announcement just when the process had reached adecisive stage after a deadly attack resulted in the death of a U.S.service member. The two negotiating teams returned to the table in December.
Last week, the U.S.-backed government in Kabul quoted Washington’s chiefnegotiator Zalmay Khalilzad as telling Afghan President Ashraf Ghani therehad been no “notable progress” in talks with the Taliban.
The Trump administration is demanding a “significant and lasting” reductionin insurgent violence, while the Taliban has refused to go beyond itsproposed weeklong scaling back of operations until a deal is signed.
Taliban spokesman Mujahid asserted his group has “the intention andcapacity” for seeking a resolution to the war in Afghanistan, but he blamedPresident Trump’s September tweet and “numerous U.S. demands and quarrels”between American and Afghan officials for hampering the dialogue process. -Voice of America
