KABUL – Amidst an increasing level of efforts by the Kabul administrationon peace, the Presidential Palace said Friday the stalemate of peace talksbetween government and Taliban will end in the near future.
A spokesman for the Presidential Palace, Shahussain Murtazawi, toldTOLOnews that more members of the Taliban are interested in joining thepeace negotiations process instead of continuing the war.
Currently Taliban announce that they are tired of war and are ready fortalks. This itself is a fundamental change,” said Murtazawi.
Although Taliban has not officially showed an interest to peace talks withgovernment, but Kabul administration says that during the ceasefire in Eiddays, a big number of fighters of the groupentered cities where they metwith local officials and expressed their interest for a reconciliation.
“Soon you will witness in different provinces that Taliban themselves willstep forward to find out how to end the war in the areas where they arestationed,” Murtazawi added.
Addressing an event on Thursday, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said theorganization is not going to leave Afghanistan and that Taliban should knowthey are unable to win on the battlefield.
“Taliban has to understand that they will never win on the battlefield. Soas long as we convey and show by staying that they will not win on thebattlefield, we will train, assist, advice and fund the Afghan forces. Thenthey will at some stage understand that they will achieve more around thenegotiating table than on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg said.
Meanwhile, an official from Foreign Ministry of Pakistan has said oncondition of anonymity that the peace talks between the Afghan governmentand the Taliban will start in the near future in an unspecified place.
“Pakistanis, Chinese and Americans are trying to start peace talks (betweenAfghan government and Taliban) as soon as possible, but after a ceasefire,”said Abdul Rahim Beg, member of the High Peace Council.
The new hopes raised after a three-day ceasefire between government andTaliban during Eid-al-Fitr days.