Karzai confirms Taliban meeting, announces early negotiations
Kabul (AsiaNews) - "With the Kabul government entering into talks with the Taliban, an historic step has been taken towards reconciliation and a future peace accord. However, Afghan authorities and US representatives should not sell out the Afghan people to the rebels," sources in Afghanistan told AsiaNews. This comes as Afghan President Hamid Karzai who yesterday confirmed in a statement that he met Taliban leaders, something he said he would never do. According the president, the Taliban are also tired of the war and want to start peace talks within a few months. Last night, Karzai attended a trilateral summit in Islamabad with the leaders of Pakistan and Iran to discuss the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, hitherto monopolised by the united states.
Meetings between the United States, Afghan government rebel leaders began in January with the opening of a Taliban diplomatic office in Doha, Qatar, sources say.
"Mullah Omar and his Taliban want to show the international community that they are serious about reaching a peace agreement to end ten years of war. However, we must understand what the Taliban's real strategy is; it might be they want to take advantage of the current stalemate to push foreign troops out and continue the war."
At the January meetings, the United States laid down its conditions: a ceasefire, cutting ties with al-Qaeda and respect for Afghanistan's new constitution and human rights, including women's rights. The precondition for the rebels led by Mullah Omar is the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and the release of terrorists held in Guantanamo.
For AsiaNews' sources, such demands are premature. The United States and the Afghan government are in a weak position vis-à-vis the rebels; the latter have in fact seized number of regions in the country. Back in September, they also carried out a major attack in the capital.
"If international troops leave Afghanistan right now, the country could slide into chaos," sources say. "The Afghan army is still unprepared and lacks the means to guarantee security. Likewise, cutting ties with al-Qaeda does not mean ending the insurgency because too many Afghan terror groups are Taliban-connected but not controlled. Beside, no Muslim leader has yet backed the Afghan constitution."
Sources are very critical of the great excitement shown by the Obama administration with regards to the meetings. In order to entice the Muslim extremists to the talks, President Obama offered to release three maximum-security prisoners.
"The United States is rushing things," sources said. "Some of the prisoners killed scores of civilians; are in prison for crimes against humanity and cannot be released without some guarantees."
Lastly, "The country's future depends on talks with the Taliban. The war cannot go on forever. But in order to avoid throwing away years of fighting and bloodshed, negotiators should stand their ground and not give in on issues like democracy and respect for human rights." (S.C.)
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