Studio interview: Afghan peace process complex, needs joint efforts

The day-long meeting, led by Pakistani and Afghan Foreign Ministry officials and USA and Chinese special envoys, broke up with a pledge to convene next Monday in Kabul.

But a splinter group headed by Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund, which rejects Mansour’s authority, has dismissed any talks where a mediating role is played by Pakistan, which observers say holds significant sway among Taliban commanders holed up near its border with Afghanistan, or the United States or China. Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan values its brotherly and neighbourly relations with Afghanistan.

 Mr. Aziz said the goal of Monday’s meeting was “to define the overall direction of the reconciliation process… with a view to create a conducive environment for holding direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban groups”.

He said we are looking forward to the mega China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor (CPEC) to become the catalyst for trans-regional commerce, trade, industry and investment flows.

The Taliban, who were ousted in 2001, remain split on whether to take part in talks, with some factions opposed to any negotiations but others considering joining talks, senior members of Taliban groups said last week.

After six months of worsening fighting, with the province of Helmand slipping out of control and frequent suicide bombings in the capital, Afghanistan and its neighbors are trying to return to peace talks, albeit without the Taliban for now.

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This power struggle within the Taliban has raised questions about who would represent the armed group if and when the talks with the Afghan government restart. The number of civilians killed is expected to have surpassed the record high of more than 3180 Afghan civilians killed in 2014, the United Nations said, which brought the number killed since 2009 to more than 17,000.

Faisal said Pakistan has agreed to cut off financial support to Taliban fighters based in Pakistani cities, TOLONews reports. The Taliban called off its participation and a second meeting was canceled.

“The motivation for peace talks was very weak in the past”, Mohammad Hassan Haqyar said.

The announcement led the Taliban to pull out of the talks after just one meeting hosted by Islamabad.

“Proper sequencing is required in the negotiating process”, he said, while adding that “threat of use of military action against the group will cause hindrances and can not proceed the offer of talks to all groups”. “The groups that continue to fight against Afghans, we will be dealing with them through counterterrorism mechanisms”. Army chief General Raheel Sharif then traveled to Kabul as part of efforts to expedite the peace process.

Still, there seems little to no chance for early peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.