DThe Taliban and the Afghan government have agreed to hold further talks as soon as possible to end the violence in the country. This is the result of two days of negotiations in Doha over the weekend. The ceasefire is mainly what the government hopes, at least during the upcoming festival, the brief statement issued after the meeting between the two sides in the capital of Qatar did not mention the ceasefire.
Abdullah Abdullah said on Sunday night that the two sides agreed to seek a political solution to the conflict between the insurgents and the government. The chairman of the High Commission for National Reconciliation, who led the government delegation, said that all parties agreed that civilian casualties should be avoided, and humanitarian assistance and medical conditions should be improved, including the fight against the new coronavirus pandemic.
Two seven-member delegations negotiated behind closed doors for two days; according to media reports, apart from them, only the Qatar envoy was present. Since September last year, the delegations of both sides have been talking to each other in Doha. However, the negotiations were deadlocked from the beginning. In particular, the Taliban have been repeatedly accused of delaying negotiations and increasing military pressure.
The current round of talks was conducted with changes in the composition of the delegation, mainly due to the radical changes in the political and military framework conditions in the past few months. The withdrawal reached by the U.S. government and the Taliban in February 2020 is progressing smoothly; it is said that the last batch of U.S. and other allied forces left Afghanistan at the end of August.
In addition, the Taliban have significantly increased military pressure since the spring. According to some surveys, they now control more than half of the country. Islamists have surrounded many provincial capitals and controlled many major roads connecting Afghanistan. They also control several border crossings to neighboring countries, which are important for the movement of goods.
The Taliban’s actions were criticized in the diplomatic missions of 15 countries, including Germany, and the joint statement of the European Union and NATO. Their continued offensive is in direct contradiction with their proposition for a negotiated settlement and support for the Doha talks. The statement issued on Sunday also said that diplomatic representatives condemned Taliban-controlled areas for killing civilians, destroying important infrastructure and violating human rights. At the festival, the Taliban should “finally put down their weapons and show the world that they are committed to the peace process.”
Escalation of diplomatic conflict
Although further talks with the Taliban will follow-according to Qatar’s information next week-the recent diplomatic conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalated over the weekend. The Kabul government on Sunday recalled Najib Alikhil, the Afghan ambassador to Islamabad, and other senior diplomats. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan called the move “regrettable and unfortunate” and expressed the hope that Kabul would reconsider this decision.
The background is a mysterious event: Silsila Alikhil, the ambassador’s daughter, was apparently kidnapped by strangers in the Pakistani capital on Friday and held for several hours. Her father made the matter public on Saturday. According to reports, she has signs of injuries and restraints.
This incident triggered a strong reaction in Afghanistan. Vice President Amrullah Saleh wrote on Twitter that Arikhill’s “kidnapping and torture” “has hurt the soul of our country”. Protests occurred in front of the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul. The Arab side stated that it will recall these diplomats in Pakistan until it is clarified that they no longer pose any security risks and the kidnappers have been captured. Pakistan’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Mansour Ahmed Khan, also returned to Islamabad on Monday; the reason was initially unclear.
Education first
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered the investigation of the case as a top priority over the weekend. The Ministry of the Interior said in a statement on Saturday that he hopes to catch criminals within 48 hours. Even on Monday, the closely monitored incident in the Pakistani capital did not seem to have been resolved. At the same time, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed questioned whether this was really a kidnapping incident. On Sunday’s TV show, he also talked about “international conspiracy” and accused the Indian secret service of planning the incident.
Due to verbal exchanges between Imran Khan and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are currently strained. In a speech at a regional meeting in Uzbekistan on Friday, Ghani accused neighboring countries of supporting the Taliban; last month, more than 10,000 fighters crossed the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan. Soon after, Khan rejected this at the same meeting. He described Ghani’s comments as “extremely unfair” and reiterated that no country has done more than Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.
