July 26, 2019
Taliban look forward to formally opening up their diplomatic front towards Islamabad after a long lull, as part of gearing up the peace efforts in resolving the Afghan fiasco.
Afghan Taliban have said that they would travel to Islamabad and meet Prime Minister Imran Khan if they are invited by Pakistan. The news came yesterday via Taliban’s Qatar’s political office’s spokesperson Suhail Shaheen to BBC via telephone after PM Imran Khan, during his visit to the US earlier this week, had hinted at a possible meeting with the group. Khan had noted that he hoped Pakistan would be successful in urging the Taliban to talk to the National Unity Government of Afghanistan in the coming days and come to an intra-Afghan political solution. The proposition was appreciated by US President Donald Trump who acknowledged Pakistan’s successful role in expediting the Afghan peace talks in recent weeks.
In a bid to further their diplomatic outreach, Suhail Shaheen looked forward to be hosted by Islamabad. He stated that the Taliban have visited neighboring and regional countries from time to time and Pakistan is not only a neighbor but also a Muslim country. However, such a meeting should not support allegations that the group has Pakistan’s support. Such allegations are levelled by only those people “who have no other justification to fight the Taliban,” he added.
According to Shaheen, although Taliban do not allow anyone to interfere in their Islamic or national interests, but they are willing to establish contact with neighboring and regional countries and have worked towards that end.
The Taliban spokesperson also stated that the group has divided the Afghan issue in two stages: one external and the other internal. While negotiations in the first stage are approaching the concluding phase, and if these talks are successful, the Taliban would then hold talks with all Afghan parties, in which the Afghan government, too, would be invited to participate as a party, according to Dawn News.
Earlier in February, a delegation of the Afghan Taliban was set to visit Islamabad and meet the prime minister as well; however, PM Imran Khan refused to meet them after the Afghan government expressed concern over the gathering. Now the meeting that is expected to take place in the coming days will be with the consent of the Afghan government.
Following the completion of his visit to the US this week, PM Imran Khan reiterated Pakistan’s assurance to Trump on Twitter that Pakistan “will do everything within its power” to facilitate the Afghan peace process aimed at ending the 18 year war in Afghanistan. He stated that the world now owes it to the people of Afghanistan to bring peace in the war-torn country after four decades of conflict.
© Afghan Studies Center (ASC), Islamabad.
