KABUL – US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis landed in Kabul on Friday for anunannounced visit to war-torn Afghanistan, adding his weight to a flurry ofdiplomatic efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.
His trip comes a little more than a year after President Donald Trumpunveiled a revamped strategy for Afghanistan that saw him commit thousandsof additional US forces to the country on an open-ended basis.
Mattis, on his second visit to the country in recent months, will meet withPresident Ashraf Ghani and the new US commander for American and NATOforces, General Scott Miller.
His arrival in Kabul comes at a sensitive time in the 17-year war.
The grinding conflict has seen little progress by Afghan or US forcesagainst the Taliban, the country’s largest militant group.
Afghan and international players have been ratcheting up efforts to holdpeace talks with the Taliban, which was toppled from power by US-led forcesin 2001.
An unprecedented ceasefire in June followed by talks between US officialsand Taliban representatives in Qatar in July fuelled hopes thatnegotiations could bring an end to the fighting.
But a recent spate of attacks by the Taliban and the smaller but potentIslamic State group that left hundreds of security forces and civiliansdead has severely dented that optimism.
A twin bomb attack on a wrestling club in a Shiite neighbourhood of Kabulon Wednesday was just the latest in a long line of devastating assaults,killing at least 26 people and wounded 91.
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The attack underscored the challenges facing Afghanistan’s beleagueredsecurity forces that have been beset by corruption and low morale.
Trump’s strategy, announced in August 2017, increased the US troop presencein the country and now includes a renewed push to bring the Taliban to thenegotiating table.
But there are fears that Trump is growing frustrated with the pace ofprogress in the country, spurring US diplomats and other officials tointensify their efforts.
The Taliban have long insisted on direct talks with Washington and refusedto negotiate with the Afghan government, which they see as illegitimate.
There is speculation that another meeting between US and Talibanrepresentatives could be held this month.
Mattis arrived in Kabul from Delhi where he and US Secretary of State MikePompeo met with their Indian counterparts. Pompeo also visited Islamabad onWednesday where he met with new premier Imran Khan and other seniorofficials.
Pompeo said he was “hopeful” of resetting the troubled relationship withPakistan, a key player in the Afghan conflict. – APP/AFP
