Pakistan Leads Talks Aimed to Bring Afghan Peace
by Ayaz Gul January 11, 2016
Pakistan opened new talks Monday on reviving the Afghan peace process, an effort aimed at drawing Taliban insurgents fighting the Kabul government back to the negotiating table.
As Taliban attacks intensify, representatives of Afghanistan, China, the United States and Pakistan meeting in Islamabad called for 'direct talks' between Afghanistan and the militants 'in a peace process that aims to preserve Afghanistan's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.'
Delegates to the four countries said they would meet again next Monday.
At the opening session, Pakistan's foreign policy adviser, Sartaj Aziz, told the delegates he was confident they could develop an 'efficient procedural framework' with realistic and flexible targets.
'The primary objective of the reconciliation process is to create conditions to bring the Taliban groups to the negotiation table and offer them incentives that can persuade them to move away from using violence as tool for pursuing political goals,' he said.
Aziz warned that attaching demands or threats of military action to the start of the process would be counterproductive.
He was apparently responding to Afghan assertions that Pakistan had promised to use force against Taliban troops unwilling to talk. Afghans allege that the Taliban leadership directs the insurgency from Pakistan with the support of Islamabad's spy agency. Islamabad rejects the charges.
Taliban leaders are widely believed to be based in Pakistani cities near the Afghan border, including Quetta and Peshawar.
The Taliban has intensified its anti-government attacks in Afghanistan and captured more territory than at any point since the Islamist group was ousted from power 14 years ago. Its expansion during the past year has fueled regional and international concerns that the upcoming spring fighting season may lead to even more bloodshed and instability in the war-shattered country.
The four countries involved in the peace process are trying to define the overall direction of the Afghan reconciliation process, along with setting goals and targets aimed at creating a conducive environment for holding direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban groups.
Incentives unclear
Critics note the Afghan government has not yet indicated what political and economic incentives it may offer for the Taliban to quit violence and engage in a productive peace process.
There is widespread skepticism about whether the Taliban is ready to give up violence and re-engage in 'result-oriented' peace dialogue with the Afghan government.
Some regional analysts say Pakistan could be important in the Afghan peace process.
'Pakistan has a vital role in these talks and it must play its role now as the Afghan government doesn't have the capacity to bring the Afghan Taliban to the table for talks,' Pakistan-based defense analyst Saad M. Khan told VOA Deewa Radio.
Javid Faisal, a spokesman for Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, said the Pakistani government will provide a list of Taliban representatives who are willing to participate in the peace process.
Talks with the Taliban have been on hold since July, when they collapsed after just one meeting following Pakistan's announcement that longtime Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had been dead for more than two years. The Taliban called off its participation and a second meeting was canceled.
A subsequent power struggle within the Taliban has raised questions about who would represent the insurgents if the talks with Kabul are revived.
Analysts have cautioned that, despite the rapprochement between Kabul and Islamabad, any substantive peace talks are still months off. Taliban demands have consistently focused on an end to the international military presence in the country. The U.S. and NATO have 13,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan, mostly in a training capacity. They include 9,800 Americans.
VOA's Deewa Radio contributed to this report.
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