ISLAMABAD: Pakistan remains engaged with the Taliban to put the Doha process back on track after the controversial opening of their office that deadlocked efforts for peace in Afghanistan.
A Pakistani official said yesterday that negotiators were talking to the Taliban leadership to persuade them to get on with the talks with the Americans and the Afghan government.
“The process is continuing. In fact it is in everyone’s interest that the process remains alive.” he added.
Taliban had initially agreed for talks with the US and Afghanistan’s High Peace Council on Pakistan’s prodding, but the row over office used in the opening ceremony and raising of a flag at the Doha office angered the Karzai government which cancelled the visit of its negotiators to Qatar and suspended talks with the US on a bilateral security arrangement.
Later, the Afghan government agreed to join the Doha process following US efforts to salvage the talks, but Taliban leaders have yet to come up with their formal response.
A transcript of an interview of a spokesman for the Taliban office in Doha, Dr Mohammed Naeem, posted on the group’s website indicated that the insurgent leadership was moving towards the start of talks both with the US and the Afghan government.
“Talks will be conducted with all sides involved in Afghanistan meetings will be held with all Afghans according to the exigency of situation,” Dr Naeem said.
However, Taliban intention to use the office for improving relations with the world countries could still prove to be sticking points for the beginning of the dialogue.
American sources say that Taliban, after 18-month-long talks on Doha office, had agreed that they would neither pose themselves as a government in exile as they had tried to suggest by adopting the name of Political Office of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan or use the office as an embassy for reaching out to other countries.
The sole purpose of the office was to facilitate a political settlement of the Afghan war.
Among the other conditions agreed by Taliban, American sources say, was that they would meet the Afghan High Peace Council and sever relations with Al Qaeda. internews
