The Obama administration is urging Pakistan to use its “good offices” for breaking the deadlock between the US and the Mullah Omar-led Afghan Taliban over the recommencement of ‘peace talks’ in Qatar that collapsed in March last year.
Currently, there is a standoff between the US and Taliban over the restart of peace dialogue due to Washington’s ‘inability’ to meet the key demand made by the Afghan insurgents to release five Taliban detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison.
The Taliban made this demand during the talks with US officials in Doha, Qatar that collapsed after continuation of some months in March 2011 when the Taliban leadership went out of talks blaming the Americans for failing to fulfill their commitment of releasing the Taliban prisoners.
The US also wants the Taliban leadership to renounce publicly the international terrorism and al Qaeda, a major American demand that the Mullah Omar-led Afghan insurgents are not willing to accept before the release of their prisoners from the US prison in GuantanamoBay.
According to diplomatic sources, the constant opposition of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to the formal opening of ‘Taliban office’ in Doha is yet another stumbling block in the movement forward as for the Afghan reconciliation process.
The Karzai administration is of the view that the Taliban shall use their office in Doha for holding talks only with the Afghan High Peace Council set up by Kabul for peace dialogue and not with the other Afghan groups, whereas Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders believe that the talks with the US alone could help resolve the Afghan imbroglio and any negotiations with Karzai administration are of no use.
“The Obama administration, which is keen to move forward with the peace negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar, wants Islamabad to impress upon Taliban leadership for the recommencement of talks with Washington,” a diplomatic source said on condition of anonymity.
Asked about Pakistan’s response to the US demand, the source said Islamabad would support all efforts that led to durable peace and stability in the war-torn neighbouring state.
However, he said before the release of Taliban detainees from the US prison, it would be a daunting task to bring the Taliban to the table of negotiations.
Hence, the Taliban prisoners needed to be released for the reconciliation process to move ahead.
Another diplomatic source, who sought anonymity, said the US also wanted the Taliban to agree to holding talks with the all Afghan groups, including the Karzai government.
He said the US officials believed that the Taliban willingness to hold talks with the Afghan government would help in securing the agreement of President Karzai over the opening of Taliban office in Qatar and he (Karzai) would stop opposing the crucial development.
Nonetheless, he said the transfer of Taliban prisoners from GuantanamoBay to Qatar would be a good step to start with for the American authorities instead of the demand coming from Washington that the Taliban should be the first to accept certain conditions, like renouncing the international terrorism.
“The Taliban could accept the American demands such as condemning the international terrorism, but for that the Obama administration would have to take the initiative and be first to come up with peace overtures. The release of Taliban detainees would be a good CBM to begin with, for instance,” the source said.
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