Pakistan pushes Afghan govt. to share power with Taliban: Report
Iran Press TV
Tue Jul 2, 2013 12:45PM GMT
Senior officials in Islamabad are persuading the Afghan government to ink a power- sharing deal with Taliban militants across the war-ravaged country, a report says.
The idea was raised during a recent meeting between Pakistani national security adviser Sartaj Aziz and Afghan ambassador Umer Daudzai in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, Pakistan's daily Dawn reported.
The senior Pakistani government representatives also asked the Afghan government to cede power in some provinces to the militant group, the report added.
However, high-ranking officials within the Afghan administration have reacted angrily to the proposal.
“There are elements within the Pakistani government who have a grand design of using the peace process as a means to undermine the Afghan state and establish little fiefdoms around the country in which the Taliban - its most important strategic asset in Afghanistan - play an influential role,” said Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Ershad Ahmadi.
The developments come as the Islamabad government facilitated the ongoing controversial peace talks between Taliban militants and the United States in Qatar.
Pakistani negotiators have been persuading the Taliban leadership in recent weeks to embark on peace talks with the Americans and the Afghan government.
“The process is continuing. In fact it is in everyone’s interest that the process remains alive,” a senior Pakistani official said on Thursday.
Washington and London have supported peace talks with the Taliban after US-led forces lost ground against the militants in recent months across Afghanistan.
Islamabad has welcomed the dialogue between Taliban and the United States in Doha, but the Afghan government has expressed serious concerns about the ongoing US-led peace process with Taliban in Qatar.
Senior Afghan officials say the move contradicts the US security guarantees, noting that Taliban militants will be able to use their Doha office to raise funds for their campaign in Afghanistan.
The Kabul government has suspended strategic talks with Washington to discuss the nature of US presence after foreign troops withdraw in 2014.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s High Peace Council stated that none of its members will travel to Qatar to sit at talks with the Taliban.
The council has been making efforts to initiate dialogue with discontented Afghans and militants who have engaged in warfare with US-led forces and Kabul's Western-backed government.
The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but after more than 11 years, insecurity remains across the country.
JR/PR
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