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US advised not to rush Afghanistan peace settlement
Afghan government representatives and the Taliban are expected to hold talks in Istanbul on April 16 as part of the US administration’s fresh push to put in place a ceasefire and create conditions for a transition in Kabul.
As the Afghanistan government prepares for peace talks, it is hoping the US will adopt a “conditions-based” approach instead of a time-bound framework for its dealings with the Taliban, people familiar with developments have said.
Afghan government representatives and the Taliban are expected to hold talks in Istanbul on April 16 as part of the US administration’s fresh push to put in place a ceasefire and create conditions for a transition in Kabul. The talks are part of a four-point plan outlined in a letter sent by US secretary of state Antony Blinken to President Ashraf Ghani in February.
“The US should adopt a conditions-based approach with the Taliban and not a time-bound approach. The agreement signed by the Trump administration imposed conditions with huge consequences on the Afghan side, which wasn’t even party to the agreement signed last year,” one of the people cited above said. “More time is needed to address the security situation and anyway, the Afghan forces are now in the lead in the operations being conducted on the ground.”
The Afghan side believes there has been no change in the attitude of the Taliban, which is behind assassinations and bombings that have claimed scores of lives. “The Taliban have also not cut their links with al-Qaeda or other foreign groups operating in Afghanistan as they were required to do under the agreement with the US,” said the second person.
“The removal of sanctions and other restrictions on the Taliban has also reduced the leverage that can be used against them,” the first person added. The US also plans to ask the UN to convene a meeting of the foreign ministers of India, Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran and US to forge a unified approach for a settlement in Afghanistan.
