KABUL – In an open letter to the “American people,” the Taliban militantgroup has claimed it is willing to enter into “peaceful dialog” to end the17-year war in Afghanistan.
According to copies of the nearly 3,000-word letter, released by Talibanspokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in several languages on Wednesday, the groupcalled on the American people to press the White House to end its“illegitimate” military intervention in Afghanistan and to reject “theinexperienced policies of President [Donald] Trump and his war-mongeradvisors.”
The text, which was also addressed to “officials of independentnon-governmental organizations and the peace loving [US] Congressmen,” alsoclaimed that recently-escalated US-led military airstrikes against theTaliban had not “retaken even a single inch of land” from the outfit.
US President Trump recently ordered intensified bombardment against Talibanpositions.
The Taliban said the letter should not be seen as a sign of weakness.
Over the weekend, the militant group invitedlink>KentuckyRepublican Senator Rand Paul, a tough critic of the prolonged US-led war inAfghanistan, to visit what it said was a political office in the Qataricapital of Doha “for mutual talks.” Taliban also claimed at the time thatan immediate US withdrawal from Afghanistan would bring peace to thecountry and would boost international security.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Paul had estimated that theUS-led military intervention in Afghanistan was costing Washington some “$50billion a year” without any gains there.
On August 21 last year, Trump announced he would prolong the militaryintervention in Afghanistan — which he had once described as a “completewaste” — and nearly doubled the number of troops there, from 8,500 in early2017 to 14,000 today.
The Taliban’s letter also came just a day after the Associated Pressreportedlink>thattwo top Afghan officials were in secret talks with the terror group,suggesting a desire in Kabul to end the Taliban militancy.
Meanwhile, representatives from dozens of countries are due to meet in theAfghan capital later this month for a second time to discuss the so-calledKabul process aimed at forging a path to peace. The first round was held inJune.In this January 15, 2018 file photo, US Marines are seen during the changeof command ceremony at the Task Force Southwest military field in Shorabmilitary camp in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (By AP)
The United States — under Republican President George W. Bush — led anumber of its allies in invading Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part ofWashington’s so-called war on terror. The invasion toppled a Taliban regimein power at the time. The group soon launched a militancy to fight both theforeign forces and the Afghan government that was established after theinvasion.
It has conducted numerous attacks, targeting foreign and Afghan soldiers,government officials, and civilians alike. A pair of Taliban attacks inKabul claimed the lives of nearly 150 people in Kabul over the past twoweeks.
Recently, the group has reportedly expanded its presence in Afghanistan.According to the resultslink>ofa study conducted by the BBC released late last month, Taliban militantsare in full control of 14 Afghan districts (four percent of Afghanistan)and are openly active in 263 others (66 percent). The study also revealedthat nearly 15 million people — half the population — are living in areasaffected by the Taliban’s presence.
An Afghan government spokesman declined to comment on the Taliban letter,according to Reuters, but a spokesman for Afghanistan’s NATO-led militarymission rejected the offer of dialog as disingenuous.
“The Taliban statement alone does not show willingness to engage in peacetalks. The recent attacks speak louder than these words,” said thespokesman, Captain Tom Gresback, referring to the letter.