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Former Taliban fighters stand in front of the media after they joined Afghan government forces during a ceremony in Herat yesterday.
NEW DELHI: The United States said yesterday that it expected the Taliban to continue to mount attacks in Afghanistan even as the rebels hold peace talks from their new office in Qatar.
“Frankly I anticipate that Taliban will continue to try to negotiate from a position of strength,” US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, James Dobbins, told reporters here. “The Taliban will want to continue to put pressure on, to make it look like the United States is leaving as a result of that pressure rather than a result of its success,” he added. Dobbins, who is on the last stop of a tour through South Asia, said he had briefed his Indian counterparts about the uncertain peace process, which has caused concern in New Delhi.
He said that the Indian side had “lots of questions on the opening of the Taliban office” in Qatar. “They questioned me closely on what the prospects were for peace, on what the exact stand was... but I did not sense they were opposed to it or the talks was something one should stay away from.”
Dobbins said the US is not sure if the talks with the Taliban will take off at all. “Nobody knows how it will progress, or we can say with certainty that the process will start... For us we are going into it with open eyes,” he added.
He said that while Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s concerns over the Taliban office in Qatar had been addressed and he has agreed to participate in the talks, they are “still waiting to hear from the Taliban” on when to hold the talks.
India, which has spent more than $2.0bn of aid in Afghanistan, fears any return of the influence of the Taliban, that are aligned with Pakistan.
India and Pakistan are locked in a fight for influence in Afghanistan, but Dobbins saw the prospect of improved relations between the neighbours which have fought three wars since independence. The United States has pressed for a political solution to end the violence in Afghanistan ahead of the US-led Nato combat mission finishing in 2014.
Agencies
