Pakistan steps back from hosting talks between Afghan govt, Taliban

Islamabad is reluctant to host direct talks between Afghan government and the Taliban and has communicated to the Afghan government that it should remain directly in contact with the Taliban Office in Doha and hold the next round of talks in Qatar.

Last month the four-nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) had invited Taliban groups to join direct talks with the Afghan government by the first week of March. Pakistan had accepted the offer to host the unprecedented meeting.

Later, the Taliban rejected what they called as ‘futile misleading negotiations’. However, contacts were continuing with the Taliban to persuade the insurgent group to soften its stance on negotiations.

Sources privy to the development said Pakistan is wary of the pressure that comes with it in the event of hosting the talks and the expectation from it to bring all Taliban factions to the negotiating table.

Officials said Pakistan has only committed to working with the Taliban groups that it can talk to and convince to join negotiations. But fresh reports suggest that bringing the main Taliban groups to the table may be a Herculean tasks as the Taliban seem all set for their Spring Offensive.

Reports from Kabul suggest that while Afghan President Asharf Ghani and his group want the peace talks to progress, there is a large group within the Afghan establishment that has no interest in the resolution of the longstanding conflict.

Sources close to the Afghan Taliban suggest that at the ground level the message to the Taliban fighters is that they should focus on the tasks assigned to them and build no hopes with regard to talks.

They have been told that negotiation is the job of the Qatar Office and it will do that. Field commanders are telling their troops that the Taliban will gain whatever is possible through talks and that in the end it is the guns of Taliban that can resolve the matters.

Taliban’s Shura has also refused to come to the negotiating table and it appears that Taliban top leadership is also not ready to make any decision that does not have the support of the local commanders.

Insiders claim that the spring offensive is not only a military strategy but it also helps the economy of local commanders, who have heavily invested in war.