Karzai, US to talk peace with Taliban
Source: Agencies |
June 19, 2013, Wednesday
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AFGHANISTAN will send a team to Qatar for peace talks with the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai said yesterday, as the US-led NATO coalition launched the final phase of the 12-year war with the last round of security transfers to Afghan forces.
"Afghanistan's High Peace Council will travel to Qatar to discuss peace talks with the Taliban," Karzai said in Kabul, referring to the council he formed in late 2010.
"We hope that our brothers the Taliban also understand that the process will move to our country soon," Karzai said of the fundamentalist Islamic group that ruled with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001. There was no immediate comment from the Afghan Taliban.
Karzai spoke after a ceremony in which the international coalition marked the beginning of the end of the handover of security to Afghan forces.
The handover will mean the departure of all NATO troops in Afghanistan under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force at the end of 2014.
Meanwhile, US officials said yesterday that the United States will meet the Taliban in Doha for talks aimed at achieving peace in Afghanistan.
The officials warned that the process would likely be lengthy.
The first formal meeting involving US and Taliban representatives is scheduled to be "in a couple of days" in Doha, the US officials said.
Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are expected to take place a few days after that, they said.
"Afghanistan's High Peace Council will travel to Qatar to discuss peace talks with the Taliban," Karzai said in Kabul, referring to the council he formed in late 2010.
"We hope that our brothers the Taliban also understand that the process will move to our country soon," Karzai said of the fundamentalist Islamic group that ruled with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001. There was no immediate comment from the Afghan Taliban.
Karzai spoke after a ceremony in which the international coalition marked the beginning of the end of the handover of security to Afghan forces.
The handover will mean the departure of all NATO troops in Afghanistan under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force at the end of 2014.
Meanwhile, US officials said yesterday that the United States will meet the Taliban in Doha for talks aimed at achieving peace in Afghanistan.
The officials warned that the process would likely be lengthy.
The first formal meeting involving US and Taliban representatives is scheduled to be "in a couple of days" in Doha, the US officials said.
Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are expected to take place a few days after that, they said.
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