Afghan Taliban insists preconditions for peace talks
Print Edition
The Afghan Taliban yesterday reiterated their pre-conditions for the resumption of peace talks with Kabul, including their removal from international terror blacklists, at an informal meeting with lawmakers and activists in Doha.
Members of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar launched two days of discussion with an Afghan delegation on Saturday as momentum grows for the start of a formal peace process.
The militant group emphasized its hardline stance on talks aimed at ending their 14-year insurgency, ruling out talks until their preconditions were met.
“Before any official talks, we want names of our mujahideen to be removed from UN and US blacklists and all bounties on their heads be cancelled,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, listing the group’s demands at the Qatar conference.
“We also want our political office in Doha to be officially re-opened.”
The Taliban opened an office in Qatar in June 2013 as a first move towards a possible peace deal. But it shut a month later after enraging the then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai by styling itself as the unofficial embassy for a government-in-exile.
The High Peace Council — the government body tasked with negotiating with the Taliban — urged the militants to resume talks before laying out pre-conditions.
“Any pre-conditions could further delay the reconciliation process,” HPC official Aminuddin Muzaffari said.
“The Taliban need to join the negotiating table before making such demands.”
Afghan government officials are not attending the meeting in the Gulf emirate, which is organized by Pugwash Conferences, an international group that promotes conflict resolution.
But it marks a rare direct interaction between the Taliban and Afghan lawmakers and civil society members amid an international push to revive talks.
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