*KABUL*: White House national security officials are backing an Afghan-ledbid to pursue peace talks with the notorious Haqqani Network, alongside theTaliban, in an effort to end the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan, reported *TheWashington Times.link>*
Kabul’s intent to bring reconcilable elements from within thePakistani-based terrorism group, which has claimed responsibility for someof the deadliest attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan sincethe beginning of the war in 2001, will not detract from Washington’sstrategy to pressure Islamabad to degrade or eliminate the Haqqani group,officials said.
“Our Afghan allies believe that a workable peace process that ends decadesof war must include all elements of the Taliban, including the HaqqaniNetwork, willing to accept peace. This war in Afghanistan must be settledamong Afghans,” a National Security Council official told The WashingtonTimes on Sunday.
“The United States will support the Afghan government and all parties readyto make peace,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Claims of US support for the Afghan-led plan, announced by President AshrafGhani this month, came days after Afghanistan’s top national securityofficial announced that Kabul would be opening talks with the Haqqanis.
“We should negotiate with anyone who is reconcilable,” including elementsof the Haqqani Network, Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad HanifAtmar, told *The Times* shortly after a breakfast roundtable with reportersThursday at the Afghan Embassy in Washington.
“We will not talk with anyone who is not reconcilable,” Atmar said beforedeparting for scheduled meetings with officials at the Pentagon, the StateDepartment and the White House.
Aside from opening talks with both the Taliban and the Haqqanis under nopreconditions, Ghani announced Kabul is now willing to consider allowingthe Taliban a political role in the government — even the establishment ofa political office for the insurgent group in the Afghan capital — shouldits leaders be willing to restart peace talks.
It remains unclear whether newly designated National Security Adviser JohnR Bolton will support an Afghan-led peace road map that includes theHaqqanis.
Bolton, a hawkish former UN ambassador, was tapped last week to replaceArmy Lt Gen HR McMaster as national security adviser.
Kabul’s decision to include amenable elements of the Haqqani Network, whosenamesake Sirajuddin Haqqani remains second-in-command of the AfghanTaliban, does not run counter to the administration’s efforts to forcePakistan to take steps to curtail or eliminate Haqqani Network activitieson both sides of the border, officials said.
Ramping up pressure on Islamabad was a key element in the White House’s newSouth Asia strategy, rolled out by President Trump in August. At that time,Trump renewed US criticisms of Pakistan’s alleged double-dealings withterrorist groups including the Haqqanis, the Pakistani Taliban andLashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the extremist movement responsible for the deadly2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.
The administration followed up weeks later by withholding millions inforeign aid to Pakistan and suspending indefinitely all military support tothe South Asian nation, demanding Islamabad do more to combat the terrorgroups.
Despite those actions, Pakistan’s efforts continue to fall short ofWashington’s demands, the NSC official said.
“Seven months after the president announced the South Asia strategy, wehave not seen the kind of decisive and irreversible actions we expectPakistan to take,” the NSC official said, noting that the US has “suspendedsecurity assistance and are considering additional measures”.
The official declined to say what additional measures are being consideredby the Trump White House.
In Afghanistan, Washington has “empowered our forces with additionalresources and authorities to more aggressively target the Taliban on thebattlefield”, in the months since the South Asia strategy rollout, theofficial said.
“We don’t believe that the war in Afghanistan has a solely militarysolution, but we do believe that military pressure will play a key elementin pushing the Taliban — including the Haqqani Network — to the accept apeace settlement that ends the war and prevents Afghanistan from being asafe haven for terrorists,” the official said.
For its part, Pakistan has praised Kabul’s efforts to restart peace talkswith the Taliban, with Pakistani National Security Adviser Nasir KhanJanjua, saying it is time for the US to abandon hopes for a militaryvictory in Afghanistan and pursue peace.