Taliban rejects direct talks with Afghan government despite US endeavors

Nahla Abdelmonem

Within mounting political consensus on trying to reach a full agreement between Taliban and the United States of America regarding peace in Afghanistan, U.S. special representative for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has announced via Twitter Taliban officials will hold discussion sessions with a negotiating team to end the conflict in the war-torn country.

However, Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, said on July 28 that negotiations with the government will only come after an agreement has been reach with the United States on the departure of foreign forces from Afghanistan.

Another Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said there had been “no agreement” on a meeting between government officials and the insurgent group.

He said that once the insurgents reach an agreement with the U.S., they would be open to intra-Afghan talks, but any government representatives would have to participate in a personal capacity.

The two sides are aiming for an agreement in which American forces would withdraw in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan will not be a launch-pad for international terror attacks.

Abdul Salam Rahimi, Afghanistan’s state minister for peace affairs, told reporters on July 27 that a 15-member Afghan government delegation he is meant to head is now “preparing for direct talks” with the Taliban.

“We are working with all sides and hope that in the next two weeks the first meeting will take place in a European country,” said Rahimi, Ghani’s former chief of staff who was appointed to the ministry post in June.

For his part, Khalilzad affirmed his country’s keenness to complete negotiations, pointing out to a number of steps he already made in this regard, like meeting with Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani to discuss finding a common ground to negotiate with Taliban.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has visited the White House for discussions with US President Donald Trump regarding US posturing towards Pakistan. State support for the Taliban has been a point of conflict between the two nation, and the reason behind Trump’s suspension of $2 billion worth of security assistance for its government.

In this regard, researcher Mohamed Farrah Abu el-Nour told The Reference in an interview that it is doubtful that any party could find a solution to the crisis between the US government and the terrorist group, especially that Taliban would not recognize any party as a negotiator, especially if it sees the Kabul government as weak and unable to take control over the whole country.