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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan govt ready to negotiate with Taliban unconditionally, says envoy |
| 2017-01-31 |
| [DAWN] Afghanistan's top envoy to Pakistain Omar Zakhilwal said his government is open to unconditional peace negotiations with the Taliban myrmidons, Chinese media reported Monday. "We are in contact with the Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... office and also a number of influential individual Taliban leaders and commanders," the Afghan ambassador told Xinhua in Islamabad on Monday, adding no formal negotiations have taken place yet. These remarks came after reports circulated in foreign and Afghan media that senior Afghan officials had met Taliban members in Qatar. "Taliban could bring any proposal to the negotiating table but we have ruled out preconditions for talks," Zakhilwal said when asked about the conditions put forth by the Taliban ahead of the talks. Taliban negotiators have publicly demanded that their political office in Qatar be opened, UN sanctions on their big shots be lifted and their detained members be released. "We are open to any and all opportunities for peace talks. We can find our way with the Taliban if external support to them stops," the Afghan envoy said. Regarding the long-standing call of Taliban to have foreign troops withdrawn from the country, Zakhilwal said that the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan required the foreign troops to stay. "If there is no war, then there is no reason for their stay in our country. Therefore, if Taliban genuinely want the foreign troops to leave Afghanistan, peace, not war will do that," the Afghan envoy said. When asked if he thinks violence will rise in the coming spring and summer, Zakhilwal said the security situation will be "challenging", adding that terrorist attacks, especially the ones employing guerrilla tactics, are difficult to prevent in entirety, but the Afghan cops will "endure as they have proven themselves by now." The Taliban traditionally launch their so-called annual "spring offensive" in April, marking the beginning of the fighting season in the war-torn country. |
| Posted by:Fred |