Afghanistan Peace CampaignNegotiators are expected to expedite their efforts to finalize the agenda in the next few days, sources said.
Negotiators from both sides of the peace negotiations held meetings with the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha over the past few days as they try to finalize the agenda of the talks, sources familiar with the process said on Friday.
The negotiators are expected to expedite efforts to finalize the agenda within the next few days, the sources said.
“Mawlavi Abdul Hakim and a member of the Taliban are in Doha and the talks are moving forward smoothly,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander.
“Our expectation is that the parties expect something logical in the view of the prevailing situations and the needs of Afghanistan,” said Fawzia Koofi, a member of Republic’s team.
Meanwhile, First Vice President Amrullah Saleh in an interview with the BBC has said that the US has conceded too much to the Taliban.
“American mission, which began 20 years ago, is not yet accomplished,” he said as quoted by the BBC. Saleh warned the US forces withdrawal risks more violence in the country.
“I am telling them [US] as a friend and as an ally that trusting the Taliban without putting in a verification mechanism is going to be a fatal mistake,” Saleh said.
He added: “The US delegation came to us and swore on every Holy Scripture that if you release these 5,000 Taliban prisoners there will be no violence. We told them at the highest level that our intelligence indicated otherwise, and if we do this violence will spike. Violence has spiked.”
“You want to negotiate with terrorism, it’s your choice. But we are telling you, don’t be deceived,” Saleh said in the BBC interview.
Former US National Security Adviser HR McMaster has said that the desire for a quick victory in Afghanistan impelled a very successful initial military campaign that unseated the Taliban government, but America’s short-term mentality undermined efforts to achieve a sustainable political outcome.
“The peace agreement that the Donald Trump administration signed with the Taliban is a flawed, it abandoned a long-term approach in favor of satisfying the desire to disengage from the war,” McMaster said on the US-Taliban peace deal. “As the US continued its withdrawal and an intra-Afghan talks stalled, the Taliban intensified attacks against Afghan security forces and civilians. The situation in South Asia requires a consistent, sustainable long-term strategy based on realities.”
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