| Afghan ‘peace deal’ needs clarity from US, Taliban |
KABUL A hoped-for peace deal ending the war in Afghanistan will likely remain out of reach unless both the United States and the Taliban put more clear, consistent offers on the table, a senior diplomat from Afghanistan’s influential neighbour Pakistan said.
“We don’t think all these issues can be solved by fighting. There must be a political process, but the parties need to be serious about it,” Mohammad Sadiq, Islamabad’s ambassador in Kabul, said in an interview.
“There is a lack of clarity on both sides,” Sadiq said, referring to the US and Taliban negotiating positions.
The role of Pakistan, with deep historic ties to the Taliban, will be pivotal in US efforts to broker a peace deal between the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the militant group, whose leaders are believed to be based in Pakistan.
After more than 10 years of costly Nato efforts failed to defeat the Taliban on the battlefield, western nations have embraced the goal of a negotiated end to the conflict even as they prepare to withdraw most combat troops by the end of 2014.
A US-educated diplomat who is a key Pakistani official on peace efforts, Sadiq said that despite deep scepticism among US and Afghan officials - many of whom would accuse Pakistan itself of inconsistency - Pakistan supported the goal of a such a peace deal for Afghanistan.
Pakistan backed the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan, which was toppled after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and is believed to prefer ethnic Pashtun dominance in Afghanistan over a northern-controlled government it fears could bolster the position of its arch-enemy, India. Sadiq said the Taliban - whose public statements are famously opaque - must clarify whether their leaders are interested in substantive peace talks, or simply want freedom for former officials in US custody.
That ambiguity, he said, has deepened turmoil within the group, already under pressure after years of battles against foreign troops and Nato strikes against senior members.
The US position, he said, has meanwhile been hobbled by bureaucratic infighting and inconsistent offers to the Taliban regarding the proposed detainee transfer - which have fuelled militant suspicion about US intentions and made Taliban leaders more reluctant to press ahead with talks.
“The Taliban suspicion is that this aims just to split the insurgents,” he said.
The US State Department, which leads US efforts to broker a peace deal, denied any inconsistencies, while the Taliban could not be reached for comment.
Pakistan had provided support to the peace process, Sadiq said, allowing certain senior Taliban officials to travel from Pakistan to Qatar, where a political address was tentatively established as part of the now-halted US peace plan.
Reuters
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