The Taliban leadership is ready to negotiate peace with the United States right now if Washington indicates its willingness to provide a timetable for complete withdrawal, reports the Asia Times Online. Furthermore, Taliban also have no problem to fulfil the often-repeated US demand that they must cut ties completely with al Qaeda.
According to Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai, a former Afghan prime minister in 1995-96 who set up a secret meeting between a senior Taliban official and a US general two years ago, the Ahmadzai told IPS in an interview that a group of Taliban leaders conveyed the organisation’s position to him in a meeting in Kabul a few days ago. “They said once the Americans say ‘we are ready to withdraw’, they will sit with them,” said Ahmadzai.
He further said Taliban made it clear that they were not insisting on any specific date for final withdrawal and the timetable was up to the Americans. A Taliban leader explained that they had no trouble with the demand for cutting ties with al Qaeda, but they would not agree to the US retaining any military bases in Afghanistan – “not one meter”, according to Ahmadzai’s account.