Hopes of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have suffered a huge blow with the Taliban refusing to hold direct talks with the government. The news came as a huge disappointment as face-to-face talks were expected to start in Islamabad this week to end the deadly 14-year insurgency. Moreover, the international community had invested heavily in terms of time and energy to make the peace talks possible and the last minute withdrawal shows the fickleness and unpredictability of the Taliban and their utter disregard for any negotiated settlement to the war in Afghanistan.
The decision of the insurgent group wouldn’t come as a surprise because it has been increasingly feeling confident after a string of victories on the battlefield, while the government in Kabul led by President Ashraf Ghani has felt vulnerable and been desperate to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table. The Taliban threw hurdles in the peace process by setting impractical preconditions for the dialogue, like the departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan.”We want to repeat our stance once again that until the occupation of foreign troops ends, until Taliban names are removed from international blacklists and until our detainees are released, talks will yield no results,” the group said in a statement.
The latest peace efforts are led by Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States. Delegates from the four countries had met in Kabul late February for a fourth round of talks to revive the peace process which stalled last summer. The Taliban had responded positively during several rounds of talks with various parties but when it came to talking with the government to discuss the real issues, they backed out in defiance.
Afghan security forces have tottered and suffered heavy casualties since Nato ended its combat mission in December 2014. In recent months, the Taliban briefly captured the northern city of Kunduz, the first city to fall to the insurgents, and have seized territory in the opium-growing southern province of Helmand. These gains by insurgents have made the security forces wary of battling them on their own.
The Taliban will never run short of reasons to explain their refusal to participate in talks. For example, the group accused the US of duplicity, saying it had boosted troop presence and increased air strikes while the insurgents themselves have ratcheted up their attacks.
The government in Kabul, in consultation with its allies, will have to plan its strategy in the wake of the latest setbacks. Unfortunately, the options before the government are limited, while the insurgents are singularly focused on fighting to capture more territory and topple the democratically-elected government in Kabul.
Hopes of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have suffered a huge blow with the Taliban refusing to hold direct talks with the government. The news came as a huge disappointment as face-to-face talks were expected to start in Islamabad this week to end the deadly 14-year insurgency. Moreover, the international community had invested heavily in terms of time and energy to make the peace talks possible and the last minute withdrawal shows the fickleness and unpredictability of the Taliban and their utter disregard for any negotiated settlement to the war in Afghanistan.
The decision of the insurgent group wouldn’t come as a surprise because it has been increasingly feeling confident after a string of victories on the battlefield, while the government in Kabul led by President Ashraf Ghani has felt vulnerable and been desperate to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table. The Taliban threw hurdles in the peace process by setting impractical preconditions for the dialogue, like the departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan.”We want to repeat our stance once again that until the occupation of foreign troops ends, until Taliban names are removed from international blacklists and until our detainees are released, talks will yield no results,” the group said in a statement.
The latest peace efforts are led by Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States. Delegates from the four countries had met in Kabul late February for a fourth round of talks to revive the peace process which stalled last summer. The Taliban had responded positively during several rounds of talks with various parties but when it came to talking with the government to discuss the real issues, they backed out in defiance.
Afghan security forces have tottered and suffered heavy casualties since Nato ended its combat mission in December 2014. In recent months, the Taliban briefly captured the northern city of Kunduz, the first city to fall to the insurgents, and have seized territory in the opium-growing southern province of Helmand. These gains by insurgents have made the security forces wary of battling them on their own.
The Taliban will never run short of reasons to explain their refusal to participate in talks. For example, the group accused the US of duplicity, saying it had boosted troop presence and increased air strikes while the insurgents themselves have ratcheted up their attacks.
The government in Kabul, in consultation with its allies, will have to plan its strategy in the wake of the latest setbacks. Unfortunately, the options before the government are limited, while the insurgents are singularly focused on fighting to capture more territory and topple the democratically-elected government in Kabul.
