ISLAMABAD: The first round of talks brokered by Pakistan between representatives of the Afghan government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) concluded Wednesday in Murree, with both parties agreeing to meet again.
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The participants agreed to continue talks to create an environment conducive for peace and reconciliation process.
Sources in Ghani’s office described the meeting as crucial because it showed the Taliban were ready to negotiate directly with the government they have been battling since they were ousted from power by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Afghan security personnel take position at the site of an attack in front of the parliament building in Kabul on 22 June 2015. The Pakistani foreign office said that the both sides were duly mandated by their respective leadership and expressed their collective desire to bring peace to the region. Also, there have been differences among the Taliban over the talks in the past.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group, said he wasn’t able to confirm whether the Islamabad talks took place at all.
It is not clear whether the Taliban in attendance are “official” or the same men that met in Urumqi or another set of Taliban representatives, though the Afghan government certainly seems to have framed the talks as more official than previous sessions.
But those attitudes are thought to have been in flux since December, when the Pakistani Taliban, an offshoot of the Afghan group, carried out a gruesome attack against a school in Peshawar.
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.
“This is an important step in advancing prospects for a credible peace”, said White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest.
Tuesday’s attack comes a week after a Taliban suicide auto bomber hit a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military convoy on the main road to Kabul airport, killing at least two Afghan civilians and wounding around 17.
The talks were hailed as a “breakthrough” by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The Afghan government blames elements inside the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for supporting the Taliban militants, while Islamabad blames the Afghan government for giving shelter to militants on its side of the border.
About 9,800 USA troops remain in Afghanistan, down from a peak of around 100,000 in 2011.
The Republican senator added that the current security situation pointed to the need for “additional United States capabilities” as Afghan forces incurred significant casualties with major cities under threat.
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A three-member Taliban team took part in the talks.
