Afghan peace gathers pace as US-Taliban talks restart in Qatar

Security guards stand outside the new Taliban political office in Doha. (File/AFP)

• Monday’s meeting takes place after militant group refused to meet Washington’s special envoy in Islamabad
• Last set of dialogues had taken place in the UAE in the presence of Saudi and Pakistani representatives

ISLAMABAD: The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, on Monday restarted talks with officials from the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, just days after the insurgency refused to meet him in Pakistan, a spokesman for the Taliban said. 
After several rounds of negotiations with US representatives in the U.A.E last year, the Taliban refused to meet Khalilzad during his visit to Islamabad last week, saying they preferred to hold talks with the US envoy in Qatar where the Taliban have had an office for years.
“Talks started with the American representatives in Doha,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a brief statement. “The US side agreed on the agenda about discussing the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and preventing Afghanistan from being used against other countries.”
Mujahid said would continue on Tuesday but did not offer further details.
A Taliban official, who was aware of the meeting in Doha, told Arab News that the talks started in the morning and continued until evening.
The US embassy released a statement late on Sunday stating that Zalmay Khalilzad had concluded his four-day visit to Islamabad on January 20. The main purpose of the trip was to follow up on discussions held in the UAE in December last year. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the UAE had also participated in the talks at the time.
Khalilzad had extended his stay in Pakistan hoping to meet the Taliban in Islamabad after a proposed meeting — which was set to take place in Doha from January 9-10 — was canceled.
Earlier a Taliban official confirmed to Arab News that their Qatar office had received a message that Khalilzad would meet the group’s representatives in Doha on Monday.
“We had received a message about a meeting with Khalilzad-led American team on Monday. Our negotiation team in Qatar will take part,” the official, who requested anonymity, said.
The US envoy was upbeat after his talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
“We’re heading in the right direction with more steps by Pakistan coming that will lead to concrete results,” Khalilzad tweeted late on Sunday as he concluded his four-day visit to the country.
He added that he had taken part in “good meetings” during his current trip to Pakistan as part of his regional efforts to advance the peace process.
Prior to visiting Islamabad, the US envoy had stopped over in Afghanistan, China, and India as part of initiative, the State Department said, adding that the visit sought to “facilitate an intra-Afghan political settlement.”
Both Khalilzad and the Taliban had engaged in a strong rhetoric in the recent days, with the militant group threatening to “stall all talks and negotiations until America ends her unlawful pressures and maneuvering and steps forward toward true peace.”
A Taliban statement released last week stated that the US had “agreed during the Doha meeting in November 2018 about discussing the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and preventing Afghanistan from being used against other countries in the upcoming meeting. She is now backing away from that agenda and is unilaterally adding new subjects.”
The Taliban’s refusal to meet representatives from the Afghan government is also one of the major hindrances in the peace process even as Khalilzad continues to press the group to reconsider its decision.
As efforts for a political solution to end the Afghan conflict have gained momentum in recent days, a US delegation — led by Commander US central command or CENTCOM, General Joseph L. Votel — held talks with Bajwa in Rawalpindi on Sunday, the military said.
The army chief reiterated that peace in Afghanistan is vital for regional peace and said that Pakistan, despite constraints, has contributed to all efforts for regional peace and would continue to do so.
“Geo-strategic environment, regional security and Afghanistan peace and reconciliation process were discussed. The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan army’s efforts for regional peace and stability,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who met PM Khan in Islamabad on Sunday, conveyed his appreciation for “Pakistan’s positive role in the ongoing efforts to find a political settlement in Afghanistan.”
Speaking at the US embassy in Islamabad, he added that he will “urge US President Donald Trump to talk to Prime Minister Imran Khan to take forward the relationship and the Afghan reconciliation process,” Pakistan’s state-owned radio reported.