Afghan President Ghani (left), US Envoy Khalilzad (center), Taliban leader Hibatullah (right)
Michael Hughes: Members of the Taliban and Afghan government are supposedly set to begin negotiations within the next two weeks but it is hard to imagine how they will overcome what appear to be irreconcilable differences over the very nature and structure of the country’s future political system.
Taliban officials have openly stated they refuse to recognize the results of the September 28 presidential election despite Washington’s claims that the insurgents have agreed to negotiate with Kabul. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is leading the U.S. side of talks with the Taliban, said engaging the Afghan government is one of the conditions of any deal to end the war.