US moves to revive talks with Afghan Taliban: Report
Iran Press TV
Wed Feb 19, 2014 5:51PM GMT
The administration of US President Barack Obama has taken serious steps toward a resumption of the so-called peace process with the Afghan Taliban militants in Qatar, a Western media report says.
According to a report published by Reuter News Agency, US officials have recently held meetings with the Qatari authorities who had played a mediating role during several years of on-and-off peace efforts.
US officials say the deal will include reviving a proposed swap of Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay in return for a US soldier being held in Pakistan's troubled northwestern tribal region.
'Clearly if negotiations with the Taliban do resume at some point then we will want to talk with them about the safe return of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. He has been gone far too long, and we continue to call for and work towards his safe and immediate release,' said White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.
President Obama's administration has supported peace talks with the Taliban after the US-led forces lost ground against the militants in recent months across Afghanistan.
Senior Pakistani officials have 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 the Taliban militants will be able to use their Doha office to raise funds for their campaign in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan's High Peace Council has frequently stated that none of its members will travel to Qatar to sit at talks with the Taliban.
The council has been making its own efforts to initiate dialogue with discontented Afghans and militants who have engaged in warfare with the 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 12 years, insecurity remains across the country.
JR/SL
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