Afghan govt, Taliban start fresh reconciliation process

The first officially acknowledged peace talks between representatives of the Afghan Taliban and the government in Kabul have ended with an agreement to meet again after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Pakistan said on Wednesday.

The talks were hailed as a “breakthrough” by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The Taliban representatives made this offer during crucial talks with senior Afghan government officials in the popular tourist resort of Murree Tuesday night.

Pakistan has been urging the Taliban’s exiled leadership to enter peace talks and the insurgents may also be motivated by the trend of some of its commanders breaking off to declare loyalty to rival jihadists Islamic State.

Officials on Tuesday said the Afghan delegation had traveled to Islamabad in the latest bid to start peace talks with the Taliban.

In a statement, he repeated his support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.

The participants recognised the need to develop confidence building measures to engender trust among all stakeholders.

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan police official says the Taliban have attacked a police checkpoint in the eastern Paktia province, wounding three policemen. He believes the Taliban involved in Tuesday’s meeting did not represent the whole of the insurgent group and a that peace deal cannot be reached without a confirmation of the peace talks by the official Taliban spokesmen. Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai led the delegation. The talks represent the first confirmed dialogue with the Taliban since the hardline group’s rule of Afghanistan collapsed in 2001 with the U.S.-led military invasion. “The next meeting will be held at mutually convenient date after Ramazan [Ramadan]”, the statement reads.

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the development, praising Pakistan and thanking Washington and China.

Many believe the top Taliban leaders are completely dependent on Pakistan for sanctuary and protection, and could not have ordered such widespread attacks in Afghanistan without Pakistan’s knowledge or consent.

“The participants exchanged views on ways and means to bring peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan”, the statement said, adding that the two sides had agreed to approach the talks with “sincerity and… full commitment”.

The diplomat said that the Afghan government did not expect the meeting to have much affect on the fierce fighting now underway, but that it hoped it could yield a framework for future discussions in the coming months.

The talks came after several informal contacts between the Taliban and Afghan government representatives, most recently in Qatar and Norway.

“There’re some Taliban who still don’t want peace”.

While President Ashraf Ghani has shown a willingness to play ball with Pakistan, others have remained unconvinced, and their ideas are reinforced by the Taliban’s unusually large gains across Afghanistan in over 13 years of war.