But McCain said that with the rise and spread of Taliban attacks amid the past drawdown of US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops and the emergence of Islamic State in Afghanistan, Obama’s timetable will put at risk the gains made since the fall of the Taliban government.
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The Government of Pakistan expressed its profound gratitude to the Government of Afghanistan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan for their willingness to work towards bringing lasting peace in Afghanistan.
“The individuals agreed to proceed talks to create an setting conducive for peace and the reconciliation course of”, the assertion stated.
“A delegation from the High Peace Council of Afghanistan has traveled to Pakistan for negotiations with the Taliban“, read a statement posted on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s official Twitter account.
Elements of the Afghan Taliban have chafed at their dependence on Pakistan and sought to keep it at a distance from its global outreach efforts.
Taliban terrorists have stepped up attacks on Afghan and US-led foreign forces in the recent months, after most coalition troops withdrew from Afghanistan at the end of 2014.
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the development, praising Pakistan and thanking Washington and China. “He has taken controversial steps that his predecessor didn’t take, and now we have to wait to see whether the Pakistani side is honest or not”, he said.
Previous efforts to start a dialogue had stalled.
However, the Taleban have laid down hardline preconditions for taking part in full-blown negotiations, stressing the need for the complete departure of foreign troops from Afghan soil.
The Taliban issued a rather opaque statement on Wednesday, saying the “political office has full authority…to hold or stop negotiations whenever and wherever they feel fit”.
Taliban political leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour also authorised the delegation to Islamabad for talks, despite objections from battlefield commander Zakir, according to the Taliban commander in Kunar. Ghani was due to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the peace initiative this week at a regional summit in Russian Federation, the official said.
The discrepancy in the timing could not immediately be reconciled, however the officials both confirm that Afghan government representatives, including Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai, had travelled to Pakistan for the meeting. The participants talked about working on minimizing civilian casualties at their next meeting, the official added. Still, Islamabad’s hosting of the talks raises suspicion among a few Afghan politicians, who believe Pakistan is aiming to wield dominance over their country.
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The shift in policy seemed to be bearing fruit, with reports circulating that the Afghan Taliban – under pressure from Pakistan was on the verge of agreeing to talks with the Afghan leadership.
