ISLAMABAD – Taliban are ready to come to negotiation table. Only they wantto come to the negotiation table with the United States, because in theirpoint of view their government was not overthrown by the Afghangovernment. There was not other Afghan government. They were not overthrownby Hamid Karzai or Ashraf Ghani or Dr. Abdullah,” said *former US diplomatand an expert on Afghanistan and South Asia affairs, Barnett Rubin,*

Rubin pointed to Pakistan’s stance on the Afghan peace process, and saidIslamabad does not put pressure on the Taliban, because the Pakistanigovernment does not want to lose the Taliban as a friend and have them backas an enemy.

“I am not very confident, but I hope that therefore Pakistan will make aserious effort to get the Taliban, if not accepted, at least to engage anddiscussing the terms about it,” said Rubin.

In* an interview with TOLOnews he said the Afghan government’s peace offerto the Taliban is a “good offer” and that the group also tends to attendthe negotiation table. *

Rubin recently sent a letter to the Taliban and asked them to leaveviolence and join the peace process.

According to Rubin, the offered peace outline highlights that the presenceof the foreign troops can be discussed and that is what the Taliban wants.

Rubin asked the Taliban to take the peace offer serious.

“The Taliban has to abandon terror, it has to abandon violence and it hasto support the Afghan Constitution. Then they have to come to the table,”Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said.

Rubin believes that pressure from the US on Pakistan will not resolveAfghan conflict, because according to him, Islamabad is still crucial forWashington.

He said the US influence on Pakistan is much lesser than of that on China.

Taliban has reacted to the Afghan government’s peace offer and Rubin’sletter, saying that these efforts are “a plot to make the group surrender”.