ISLAMABAD: Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal has said his government is open to unconditional peace negotiations with the Taliban, Chinese media reported Monday.
“We are in contact with the Qatar office and also a number of influential Taliban leaders,” the Afghan top envoy told Xinhua in Islamabad on Monday, adding no formal negotiations have taken place yet. The development came after reports circulated in foreign and Afghan media that senior Afghan officials had met Taliban members in Qatar.
“Taliban could bring any proposal to the negotiating table but we have ruled out preconditions for talks,” the ambassador said when asked about the conditions put forth by the Taliban ahead of the talks. Taliban negotiators have publicly demanded that their political office in Qatar be opened, UN sanctions on their senior leaders be lifted and their detained members be released.
“We are open to any and all opportunities for peace talks. We can find our way with the Taliban if external support to them stops,” the Afghan envoy said.
Regarding the long-standing call of the Taliban to have foreign troops withdrawn from the country, Zakhilwal said that the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan required the foreign troops to stay.
“If there is no war, then there is no reason for their stay in our country. Therefore, if the Taliban genuinely want the foreign troops to leave Afghanistan, peace, not war will do that,” the Afghan envoy said.
Replying to a question, the envoy said the security situation would be challenging in the coming months, but the Afghan security forces would “endure as they have proven themselves before”.
