Afghan Taliban, US bon homie likely

The Mullah Omar led Afghan Taliban might extend firm assurance to the United States and its allies that Afghanistan’s soil would not be used for any acts of terror after the withdrawal of NATO troops in response to the key American demand of condemning al Qaeda and distancing itself from the global terrorist network, sources told Pakistan Today.
However, the Taliban have come up with some key demands for starting meaningful negotiations which include release of five senior insurgent leaders from the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, removal of the movement’s leaders’ names from UN sanction lists and withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the US and its allies also want Taliban to accede to some important demands like renouncing international terrorism, distancing itself from al Qaeda and condemning this terrorist network, accepting a ceasefire in Afghanistan, respecting human rights and abiding by the Afghan constitution among others.
A diplomatic source privy to efforts by Pakistan and other facilitators working for the meaningful and result-oriented Afghan reconciliation process told Pakistan Today that feedback from the ranks and files of the Taliban suggested that the Mullah Omar led former ruling militia of Afghanistan could assure the global community that the Afghan soil would not be allowed to be used by al Qaeda and other terrorist outfits in future.
“However, the Taliban would like to see the release of its leaders first from Guantanamo and removal of their names from the UN list of terrorists and in response they could make the important announcement about ‘no use of Afghan soil by terrorists after the withdrawal of foreign troops’,” he said, seeking anonymity.
Now that the American President Barack Obama has started his second term in office, his administration is very keen for the restart of peace dialogue with the Taliban that broke down in March last year owing to what Taliban leadership said was Washington’s unwillingness to release five key insurgent leaders from Guantanamo Bay prison.
Along with other demands, the US wants the Taliban to accede to a ceasefire against the NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The source, however, said that there were little chances of ceasefire by Taliban in the near future adding that Taliban would first like to see that their demands are accepted, which would demonstrate how serious US is for the peace negotiations. A Pakistani diplomat when contacted said that he would not like to comment on demands from either the US or Taliban. Nonetheless, he said that Islamabad was willing to take all possible steps for the success of the Afghan reconciliation process.
“The release of several Taliban leaders and activists in recent months is proof of Pakistan’s strong support for the peace efforts in Afghanistan,” he said. The diplomat said that the reaction of Taliban to the release of their leaders was not yet clear but it had a positive impact on bilateral ties between Islamabad and Kabul.
Another diplomatic source said that with the help of friendly countries and facilitators like Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, a conducive environment was being created for meaningful peace dialogue in Afghanistan.
“Contacts are on between different stakeholders for which different channels such as the recently held ‘Paris talks’ between the Taliban and other Afghan groups, are being used,” he said.