Taleban, Afghan govt negotiators meet as fighting rages on

Meeting in Doha follows on-and-off talks that have lost steam as insurgents make gains

DOHA • Representatives of the Afghan government and the Taleban met in Doha for talks yesterday, as violence rages in the country with foreign forces almost entirely withdrawn.

The two sides have been meeting on and off for months in the Qatari capital, but the talks have lost momentum as the insurgents have made battlefield gains.

Several high-ranking officials, including former Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, gathered in a luxury hotel yesterday after morning prayers.

Former president Hamid Karzai had also been due to travel to Doha but remained in Kabul, according to a source. They were joined by negotiators from the Taleban's political office in Doha.

"The high-level delegation is here to talk to both sides, guide them and support the (government) negotiating team in terms of speeding up the talks and have progress," Ms Najia Anwari, spokesman for the Afghan government negotiating team in Doha, told Agence France-Presse.

"We expect that it (will) speed the talks and... in a short time, both sides will reach a result and we will witness a durable and dignified peace in Afghanistan."

The Taleban has capitalised on the last stages of the withdrawal of US and other foreign troops from Afghanistan to launch a series of lightning offensives across the country.

Taleban spokesman Muhamad Naeem told the Al Jazeera broadcaster ahead of yesterday's talks: "We are ready for dialogue, for talks and negotiations, and our priority is to solve the problems through dialogue."

He added: "The other side must have a true and sincere will to end the problems."

He posted on Twitter yesterday saying that talks between the government and the Taleban side led by Taleban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar began with Quranic recitations.

Afghan forces clashed on Friday with Taleban fighters in Spin Boldak, Kandahar province, after launching an operation to retake the key southern border crossing with Pakistan. The Taleban has also tightened its grip in the north, and battled for the stronghold of an infamous warlord.

The battle at the southern border follows weeks of intensifying fighting across Afghanistan, with the Taleban pressing multiple offensives and overrunning dozens of districts at a staggering rate.

As fighting raged over large swathes of Afghanistan, a war of words was also heating up between Kabul and Islamabad, after the Afghan vice-president accused the Pakistani military of providing "close air support to Taleban in certain areas". Pakistan strongly denied the claim, with a Foreign Ministry statement saying the country "took necessary measures within its territory to safeguard our own troops and population".

Islamabad had touted a conference of regional leaders to address the spiralling violence. Instead, it announced that it would delay the summit until after the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast, due to start this week at the end of the annual haj pilgrimage, clearing the way for the Doha gathering.

Afghanistan's southern border has long been a flashpoint in relations with its eastern neighbour. Pakistan's Balochistan province has been home to the Taleban's top leadership for decades, along with a large contingent of reserve fighters who regularly enter Afghanistan to bolster their ranks.

The speed and scale of the Taleban onslaught have caught many by surprise, with analysts saying that it appears aimed at forcing the government to negotiate on the insurgents' terms or suffer complete military defeat.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 18, 2021, with the headline Taleban, Afghan govt negotiators meet as fighting rages on. Subscribe