KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday his government would not join US peace talks with the Taliban and halted negotiations with Washington on a troop pact, underscoring the fragile nature of hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan.
The United States and the Taliban have said officials from both sides will meet in Doha today in a step forward for a stuttering peace process after 12 years of bloody and costly war between US-led forces and the insurgents.
But Afghan officials, angered by the opening of a Taliban political office in Doha on Tuesday, said the US had violated assurances it would not give official status to the insurgents.
Meanwhile, an official source at the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Qatar News Agency that the office, which was opened yesterday is the Political Bureau of the Taliban Afghan in Doha, and not the political bureau of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The source added that the official name, that was agreed upon with respect to the opening of this office, is the Political Bureau of Taliban in Doha.
The AFP in a late night despatch quoted the State Department as saying yesterday that the US has not scheduled talks with the Taliban, after reports that discussions with the group could begin this week in Doha. “Reports of a meeting being scheduled or on the books aren’t accurate,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, saying Washington had “never confirmed” the date and place of any specific meeting.
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