President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani said Sunday that militant Islamic State (IS) group was crushed in eastern Afghanistan, where it had been controlling some remote districts.
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“Peace is in the interests of both us and the Taliban”, Ghani said while addressing the opening of parliament after the winter break.
Although direct peace talks are slated to begin next week, the Taliban said they would not participate as long as U.S.-led foreign forces remained on Afghan soil.
Islamabad, Mar.6: The peace talks between Afghanistan and the Taliban ran into trouble as the main faction of the insurgent group denied its plans to join the process besides questioning its efficacy.
A Taliban statement reportedly said, “Until Taliban names are removed from worldwide blacklists, and until our detainees are released, talks will yield no results”.
ISIL has had a presence in Afghanistan for more than a year.
“We already – before the 7th July meeting previous year – we had to use some of these levers and restricted their movements, restricted their access to hospital and other facilities, and threatened them that if you do not come forward and talk, then obviously we will at least expel you”, he said. Officials have said most militants calling themselves IS are disaffected Taliban fighters.
However, Ghani said that it is not a civil war in Afghanistan, Afghans are all brothers, and it is “indeed imposed war”.
Another bone of contention that has hindered any headway in efforts for a cease-fire and peace in the country is the Taliban’s precondition of dismantling the present Kabul government to establish a new interim set-up.
The Taliban have been behind scores of attacks that have threatened security and stability in Afghanistan for years, and there’s no indication they will let up anytime soon.
The quartet had called for a direct dialogue between the Taliban and Kabul by this week, a deadline that analysts called “completely unrealistic”.
Many suspect that Taliban could reappear on the negotiating table as factional infighting and leadership division has deepened in the group since the death of Omar.
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He applauded the bravery and sacrifices of Afghan troops in fighting the militants.
