Taliban, Afghan officials begin peace talks in Pakistan

New Jersey Telegraph Wednesday 8th July, 2015

taliban, afghan officials begin peace talks in pakistan

• Iftaar talks offer hope of formal peace process to end conflict

• Taliban deny its involvement in the talks

• Afghan president's office tweets about Pakistan talks

KABUL, Afghanistan - In a significant development, officials of the Afghan government on Tuesday began two-day talks with representatives of Taliban to bring peace in the war-torn country, officials said.

The peace talks are being held in Pakistan, according to an Associated Press report. This is the first high level meeting between the two sides even as few details were made available about the peace talks that began in Islamabad over iftaar the sunset meal Muslims take to break their dawn to dusk fasting.

The Afghan government side is being led by Deputy Foreign Minister Hikmat Khalil Karzai, while the Taliban are being led by former deputy foreign minister Mullah Jalil and senior leader Qari Din Muhammad.

A Twitter post from the office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that the group comprised members of the High Peace Council, a body set up five years ago to negotiate with the Taliban.

Diplomats from the United States and China are said to attend as observers. But a US embassy spokeswoman in Kabul could not confirm any American participation in the talks.

However, the Afghan Taliban spokesperson denied that the group was involved in any peace talks or had any knowledge of the meeting in Islamabad.

"I do not have any information and will share if there is any," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Taliban has always distanced itself from the peace talks including a meeting held last month in Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang province.

Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz last month confirmed that negotiations were being facilitated.

Pakistan's foreign office spokesman on Tuesday also denied any knowledge about the talks even as an intelligence official said discussions between the two sides were on.

The talks are being held after another day of bloodshed in Kabul where a suicide car bomber targeted a NATO vehicle, injuring three people. In another attack, a security guard was killed at an office of the Afghan spy agency when three insurgents attempted to storm the building.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported that informal meetings between the militant group and Afghan officials have taken place but official efforts to reopen peace negotiations have so far borne little fruit.

Over the past two months, such meetings included discussion held in Doha and Oslo. Karzai participated in one of the two meetings last month in the Norwegian capital.

Taliban has set several hardline conditions before formal talks with the government, including a complete departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan.

NATO withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in December last year, but a smaller force has stayed on for training and counter-terrorism operations.

Even as efforts are being made to negotiate a peace deal, hundreds of people have been killed across Afghanistan since the militant group launched its so-called annual spring offensive on April 24 this year.

 

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