KABUL – Afghan Taliban cool response over the peace talks offer by TheAfghan President seems to be a setback for the Afghanistan peace process.
The Taliban on Thursday issued a cool response to proposals that theyshould begin peace talks with the Afghan government, a day after PresidentAshraf Ghani offered a pact to recognize the insurgents as a legitimateparty in negotiations.
The movement has not yet given any formal answer to Ghani’s invitation,made at a conference of officials from countries in the so-called KabulProcess aimed at creating a platform for talks to end more than 16 years ofwar.
But its chief spokesman did reply to an “Open Letter” published this weekin the New Yorker magazine by Barnett Rubin, a respected commentator onAfghan politics, who urged the Taliban to accept talks with the Kabulgovernment.
“Our country has been occupied, which has led to an American-style supposedAfghan government being imposed upon us,” the Taliban response said.
“And your view that we talk to them and accept their legitimacy is the sameformula adopted by America to win the war,” it said, adding that the KabulProcess was simply aimed at seeking the “surrender” of the Taliban.
The comments come a month after the Taliban claimed responsibility for anattack in which an ambulance packed with explosives blew up in Kabul,killing around 100 people, in the worst attack seen in months.
As part of its new regional strategy announced last year, the United Stateshas stepped up assistance to the Afghan military and greatly increased airstrikes against the Taliban, in a bid to break the stalemate and force theinsurgents to the negotiating table.
However Taliban fighters control large parts of the country, the Kabulgovernment itself is deeply divided and thousands of Afghan soldiers andcivilians are being killed every year.
The Taliban have themselves twice offered to talk to the United States inrecent weeks, but have ruled out talks with the Kabul government, a keysticking point that must be resolved before any talks can start.
While the international community sees Ghani’s administration as the solelegitimate government of Afghanistan, the Taliban see it as an artificial,foreign-imposed regime that does not represent the Afghan people.
The Taliban statement said the movement was “sincerely committed” tomeeting international concerns over Afghanistan being used as a base forterrorist attacks and had no wish for conflict with the United States orother powers.