KABUL (SW): The High Peace Council (HPC) has claimed that Pakistan is not allowing the Afghan Taliban to negotiate peace deal at liberty with the Kabul government.
Talking to Salam Watandar, Ismael Qasimyar, HPC Advisor on Foreign Affairs, said that a number of Taliban leaders in Pakistan have been threatened by Pakistani security agencies against direct negotiations for peace deal with the Afghan government. “We can understand this, Pakistan does not want to waste its two-decades of investment on the Taliban, and hence wants to play key role in peace talks”, he said.
The Kabul government, as well as the international community has long been calling for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process. Waheed Mujda, an expert on security affairs, told Salam Watandar that Taliban have also tried to establish contacts with China, Iran and Russia for this matter but Pakistan does not want to set them free.
“That is what Pakistan has been doing for years; even during the Mujahedeen's time they were doing the same; exploiting situation for their own benefits, we will see how much can the Taliban resist”, he said. Mujda went on to say that if the US engages directly in peace process with the Taliban it would help the Taliban come out of this difficult situation but it seem the US is considering it as a shame for them.
Nazar Mohammad Mutmain, another analyst, said in this regard that the Taliban seem ready for peace talks but Pakistan is exploiting them. “It would be better if the US, the Afghan government and international community stand firm for the peace talks, and not allow Pakistan to sabotage the process”, he said.
Reports suggest representatives of the Afghan government have had multiple sessions of talks with the Taliban representatives in Qatar. Also, a delegation of the Taliban from their Qatar office visited Pakistan last month.
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