In a potentially groundbreaking move, the Taliban announced on Tuesday that they were prepared to take the first step toward peace negotiations with the Afghan government after 12 years of war. Furthermore, Taliban spokesman Mohammed Naim said in a televised announcement that its political and military goals were limited to Afghanistan and that it did not wish to harm other countries.
The announcement was welcomed by the United States.
The announcement came in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where negotiations have been under way for over two years with a range of international participants to attempt start peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
It would be the first time that the antagonists in the Afghanistan war have undertaken peace negotiations to end a conflict that has encumbered the United States since 2001, when American forces entered the country to rout al Qaeda.
Senior Obama administration officials in Washington said that the Taliban statement contained two key pledges: that the insurgents believed Afghan soil should not be used to threaten other countries and that they were committed to finding a peaceful solution to the war in Afghanistan.
“Together, they fulfill the requirement for the Taliban to open a political office in Doha for the purposes of negotiation with the Afghan government,” said a senior administration official.
The Taliban statement also said the office would be used to explain the group’s views to other countries, to meet with representatives of the United Nations, with regional and international organisations and nongovernmental organisations. The Taliban also said they planned to give media statements about the current political situation.
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan referred to the impending opening of the Taliban office earlier in comments at a ceremony celebrating the handover of all responsibility for security by the American-led multinational forces in Afghanistan to the Afghan forces who will now be in the lead nationwide.
While he signaled his acceptance of the office opening in Qatar, he made clear that he wanted the talks moved to Afghanistan as soon as possible. The Taliban have insisted on holding any talks on neutral ground outside both Afghanistan and Pakistan, where much of the Taliban leadership currently lives.
“Peace is the desire of the people of Afghanistan,” Karzai said at a Kabul news conference after the ceremony. “Peace is a hope that the people of Afghanistan make sacrifices for every day,” he said.
It is nice to learn that Tehreek-e-Taliban, Afghanistan, has announced its willingness to take first step toward peace negotiations with the Afghan government and has also declared that its political and military goals were limited to Afghanistan, with no wish to harm other countries.
Also, considering what they had to go through because of Osama bin Laden, it is unlikely that they will in future harbour any one who would want to launch attacks on US mainland, or on any other country, and they have stated this fact clearly in their decaration.
The US has welcomed the announcement but that is not enough. The Americans better start negotiations with Taliban, conclude these and get out fast from Afghanistan, thus avoiding unnecessary casualties, leaving the region in peace.
There is really no excuse for Americans to hang around here any longer. Americans have done enough messing around in the world and now it is time for them to concentrate on domestic affairs, and improve the lot of their people nearly one fifth of whom live in poverty, instead of just gifting them dead bodies and the disabled, apart from wasting their hard-earned money on unnecessary mis-adventures.
Karachi
品质保证全国送料無料
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