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Pamela Constable
Foreign correspondent covering Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Asia, Latin America and immigration
KABUL – The Trump government's special advisor for peace in Afghanistan last week met Taliban representatives in Qatar for talks including "efforts to find a peaceful resolution" to the war, a spokesman for the insurgent group said Saturday.
Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan remained the "biggest obstacle" to peace, but he also noted that both sides had agreed to continue the dialogue – a potentially major step towards formal negotiations with the Taliban to end the conflict. -year of war.
The US Embassy in Kabul said in a statement that US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad had held "consultations" last week in Islamabad, Pakistan; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Doha, Qatar. The embassy did not confirm the meeting that allegedly took place with Taliban officials.
Khalilzad returned to Kabul for follow-up meetings with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other officials, as well as political and civil groups, "to hear their views and priorities on a settlement" confirmed this scenario.
The talks announced would mark another important contact with Taliban representatives in Qatar, who sought to mediate. A first decisive meeting was held in July with Alice Wells, a senior State Department official. The US authorities have never publicly confirmed the meeting.
According to reports, the Khalilzad meeting was reported to have taken place just weeks after he was appointed peace officer for Afghanistan in Washington. He first visited Kabul and Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, early last week, and then disappeared from public view. Its published schedule also included visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but US authorities have not commented on this.
Khalilzad, now Washington's spokesperson for peace in Afghanistan, after a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in 2008. (Keith Bedford / Reuters)
[[[[In western Afghanistan, villagers flee war and drought]
The potentially encouraging news of Doha was announced as the latest violent attack targeted Afghan candidates in the legislative elections scheduled for Saturday. A bomb attack at a campaign rally in the northern province of Takhar killed more than 20 people. No group has claimed it, but the Taliban have warned that it would seek to disrupt the polls, and more than 300 people have already died in election-related attacks.
Monday's one-day public tour of Khalilzad in Pakistan has only led to platitudes. Officials were polite but cool, and the Pakistani foreign minister told Washington that Khalilzad – who had once suggested the country should be declared a terrorist state – should be more "sensitive" in his new role.
Pakistan has long claimed peace in Afghanistan, but Afghan and US officials accuse it of secretly harboring anti-Afghan militants. Washington has suspended military aid of $ 300 million. Khalilzad's mission includes persuading Pakistan to actively support the peace talks.
In Afghanistan, where Khalilzad was born and was US ambassador in the early 2000s, his previous diplomatic mandate was tainted by accusations of strong political accusations. But last week, his peace program received a warm welcome. Ghani has long been looking to revive talks with the Taliban, and hopes of progress are rising after a first three-day truce in June.
Khalilzad told reporters in Kabul on Monday that Afghan and Taliban leaders should appoint their negotiating teams. He said the United States would be happy to participate in all talks, but the peace process should remain "Afghan-controlled".
His message contrasted strongly with that of Erik Prince, the US security contractor who visited Kabul two weeks ago to promote the privatization of the armed conflict. In an interview on Afghan television, the former Blackwater chief has boasted that his fighters could turn around in six months. The Afghan reaction was uniformly negative and US military officials rejected the idea.
"In some ways, Khalilzad is the ideal person for this job. It understands the terrain, politics and state of affairs in Pakistan and the region, "said Michael Kugelman, expert on Pakistan and Afghanistan at the International Center of Woodrow Wilson Specialists in Washington.
[Violence, claims of manipulation ahead of Afghan elections]
Kugelman noted, however, that his earlier criticism of Pakistan could hinder Khalilzad's ability to "make progress with Islamabad". shuttle diplomacy.
"Mr. Khalilzad can not do much," said Ahmad Zia Rafat, a university professor in Kabul. "The question is whether the main players – such as the United States, Iran , Pakistan, India, China and Iran – are ready for peace here or not?
Kugelman pointed out that in Afghanistan as well, continued insurgent attacks and expanded territorial control remained stubborn obstacles to Khalilzad's mission.
"We should not exaggerate his ability to move mountains," he said. "The fundamental question remains the same: how to convince the Taliban to stop fighting when think it's winning the war. "
Sayed Salahuddin in Kabul and Shaiq Hussain in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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