By Ankit Panda
Are peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban on the horizon?
I was surprised to see reports this week that face-to-face negotiations between the United States, Afghan officials, and Taliban leaders would take place soon. According to reports citing a senior Pakistani military officials, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif, following conversations with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul this week, confirmed that the Taliban would return to the negotiating table at Doha in March. According to the New York Times, anonymous Western officials noted that the “Taliban appeared willing to meet for negotiations in the coming month.” These talks, if successful, would represent the realization of a 13-year effort to negotiate for peace with the Taliban.
In any case, shortly after these reports emerged, both the U.S. and Afghan governments, as well as the Taliban, released statements denying that any talks were about to take place. ”The United States currently has no meetings with the Taliban scheduled in Doha,” Bernadette Meehan, a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson, told the press. ”We remain supportive of an Afghan-led reconciliation process whereby the Taliban and the Afghans engage in talks toward a settlement to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan,” she added. Ghani’s office released a statement noting that it would “not conduct any negotiation in secret from [the Afghan] people.” The Afghan Taliban’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid chimed in with a statement as well: ”We do not have any plans for negotiations with anyone in Qatar. Regarding the negotiations, there is no new changes in the policy of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan.”
In addition to the anonymous Western officials who spoke to the Times, an Afghan official close to Ghani told Reuters that “talks were expected.” Based on the Reuters report, the outstanding issue from the Afghan government’s perspective was the prospective location of these talks. That same official brought up the possibility that Beijing could be under consideration as a venue for this talks. This isn’t entirely unlikely as Beijing recently hosted an Afghan Taliban delegation and has grown increasingly involved in the Afghan reconciliation process. Other cities discussed in the Reuters report as possible venues include Islamabad, Kabul, and Dubai.
Read the full story at The Diplomat