Pompeo Tells Afghan President Qatar Talks With Taliban Best Chance For Peace

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Pompeo (front-left), and Ghani (back-right).

Pompeo (front-left), and Ghani (back-right).

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 22, 2019

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to express disappointment over the postponement of talks with the Taliban and to condemn the insurgent group’s recent announcement of a “spring offensive.”

Some 250 Afghan politicians and civil society figures had been due to meet with Taliban negotiators in Doha starting on April 19 for the so-called intra-Afghan dialogue. It would have marked the first time that Taliban and Kabul government officials sat together.

But the meetings were abruptly cancelled on April 18 amid disagreements about the size and composition of the Afghan delegation.

The State Department said in a statement that Pompeo called Ghani on April 21 and condemned the Taliban’s announcement of starting another offensive in the spring.

Pompeo also said that the talks present an important opportunity to advance peace.

“The secretary encouraged all sides to seize the moment and reach an understanding on participants, so that an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue can be convened in Doha as soon as possible,” the State Department said.

The United States has been holding separate bilateral peace negotiations with the Taliban in Doha as part of a months-long peace push.

With reporting by AP

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Related

Supreme Court Extends President Ghani’s Tenure

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Ashraf Ghani

Ashraf Ghani

Tolo News: The Supreme Court of Afghanistan has approved the extension of President Ashraf Ghani’s tenure until the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for September 28.  Based on the Constitution, Ghani’s tenure ends on May 22.  A number of presidential candidates described the court’s decision in defiance to the spirit of the law and accuse the president of “suppressing” democracy. Click here to read more (external link).

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Taliban says next talks with US to focus on foreign troop pullout from Afghanistan

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us_military

Press TV
April 21, 2019

A highly-placed member of the Taliban militant group says the next round of negotiations between the outfit and the United States will focus on the timetable for the pullout of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.

In an interview with AFP in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Saturday, the Taliban’s political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said previous negotiations with Washington had seen the two sides agree to a total withdrawal.

“In our last round of talks with the US side, we agreed with them on withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan,” Shaheen said.

In return for a withdrawal, the militant spokesman said, the Taliban have committed to preventing terror groups using Afghanistan as a launchpad for attacks on other countries.

Shaheen said that agreement needed to be fleshed out at the upcoming talks in Doha in the coming weeks.

“Still, there are some details to be discussed, and this discussion will take place in our next round of talks and that is about (the) timetable of the withdrawal of forces from the country and other details,” he said.
The US government denies that any timeline for a withdrawal has been agreed with the Taliban yet.

The last talks in Doha, where the Taliban has a political office, concluded in March with US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad saying “real strides” had been made in efforts meant to put an end to the almost 18-year war in Afghanistan. Khalilzad, who is leading the talks for Washington, said that no agreement had been reached on when the US and other countries might leave Afghanistan.

A meeting between the Taliban and Afghan politicians that was due to take place over the weekend was canceled amid bickering about Kabul’s lengthy list of delegates, which initially comprised 250 people. The conference would have been separate from the main US-Taliban peace talks.

The talks in Doha have so far excluded the Afghan government. The militant group has rejected a government bid to attend the talks as well as an offer to open an office in Kabul, urging instead international recognition of its office in the Qatari capital.

The Taliban militant group has recently announced the beginning of its spring offensive in Afghanistan despite involvement in the peace talks with the US.

The Taliban’s five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end following the US-led invasion in 2001, but 18 years on, Washington is seeking truce with the militants, who still control large swathes of land in the country.

US forces have remained bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.

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Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Deadly Assault On Afghan Ministry

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 21, 2019

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an Afghan government building that killed at least seven people on April 20.

According to a statement published by the militant group’s Amaq news agency on April 21, the assault on the Communications Ministry headquarters in downtown Kabul was carried out by four IS followers.

The Afghan affiliate of IS, sometimes known as Islamic State Khorasan, has been active in the war-torn country since 2015, fighting the Taliban as well as Afghan and U.S. forces.

Afghan officials said the attack on the ministry began with an explosion at the entrance of the building in a busy commercial area of the city, followed by gunfire.

Police said a bomber blew himself up outside the ministry, clearing the way for the other attackers to enter the building and the heavily guarded government compound in central Kabul.

Nasart Rahimi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said four civilians and three soldiers were killed during the attack, which lasted several hours. Eight civilians were wounded, he said.

Rahimi said the security operation ended “after all four attackers were shot and killed by Afghan security forces.”

Police also shot and killed four other militants before they could reach their target of the nearby central post office, Rahimi said.

The official said some 2,700 government employees and civilians were rescued by security forces after being stuck in several government buildings.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, and Reuters

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Other Security News


NEPA Working On Plans To Reduce Air Pollution In Kabul

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nepa_logoTolo News: The air pollution in Kabul is seasonal and it will increase with the arrival of summer. A report released by an American institution last year listed Afghanistan among the ten cities in the world which have the most polluted air. During winter, as the weather gets cold, the air pollution increases in the city due to the use of low-quality fuel by its residents. Click here to read more (external link).

Pakistan PM Says Will Not Give Advice to Afghanistan Anymore

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Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Ariana: “Now I’m not giving any advice to the Afghan government, because it would call it interference,” Khan said while speaking at a public gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistani PM added that he will pray for peace in Afghanistan, reminding that it has been 40 years since Afghans have been suffering from war. Recently, Imran Khan suggested formation of an interim government in Afghanistan for the sake of peace which drew strong reactions from Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

Other Afghan-Pak Relations News

About a Dozen Killed During Attack on Afghan Communications Ministry

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fireVOA News
April 20, 2019

About a dozen people were killed during an attack Saturday on the Communications Ministry building in Kabul, authorities said, ending a spell of relative calm in the Afghan capital.

The Interior Ministry said on Twitter the nearly five-hour attack had ended and that “all suicide bombers were killed.”

The attack on the Communications Ministry began shortly before midday with an explosion at the entrance to the building. Police Chief General Sayed Mohammad Roshandil said a bomber blew himself up outside the ministry, enabling other attackers to enter the heavily guarded government complex in central Kabul.

Police evacuated about 2,800 employees and sealed off the area around the building as at least three attackers battled security forces, ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.

Rahimi said five employees and three security personnel were among those killed. Other attackers were gunned down by Afghan forces, bringing an end to the siege.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack and Taliban militants, who recently announced their now-customary spring offensive, denied they were responsible. The Taliban and Islamic State are active in eastern Afghanistan and have previously claimed responsibility for attacks in Kabul.

The attack interrupted months of relative calm in the Afghan capital and came as the U.S. has held a series of meetings with Taliban representatives to try to reach an agreement to end more than 17 years of war.

A meeting between Taliban and Afghan officials and civil society representatives in Qatar was canceled just days before the attack. Officials have said they hope to reschedule the meeting but a date has not been set.