Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

A rare window of opportunity for peace and political stability in Afghanistan might have opened up, according to a Washington Post article which reported that the Taliban and representatives of Afghan President Hamid Karzai have embarked upon “secret, high-level talks” aimed at ending the war in the country.

Quoting unnamed European, Afghan and Arab sources the article said that they believed that the Taliban involved in the discussion were authorised to speak for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan wing of the group that is based in Pakistan. In particular the discussants were said to represent Mohammad Omar, leader of the Quetta Shura.

However the sources mentioned by the Post were also equally clear that the groups that were kept out of the talks included the Haqqani network, a militant outfit in Pakistan that “U.S. intelligence considers particularly brutal.”

This group was said to still exert some influence on the process, with one Afghan source noting that Pakistan’s insistence on a central role in negotiations had made talks with the Quetta group difficult. Regarding this role of Pakistan this source reportedly said, “They try to keep very tight control.”

In January Pakistan’s role in Afghan peace negotiations was criticised in some quarters after it has emerged that Abdul Ghani Baradar, a senior operational commander of the Taliban, was arrested by Pakistani authorities because they reportedly feared being left out of a deal that the Taliban was striking with the Hamid Karzai government in Kabul.

Media reports at the time had quoted an unnamed Pakistani security official as saying, “We picked up Baradar and the others because they were trying to make a deal without us... We protect the Taliban. They are dependent on us. We are not going to allow them to make a deal with Karzai and the Indians.”

Destabilised

Kai Eide, a former special representative in Afghanistan for the United Nations Secretary General, had also said shortly thereafter that secret U.N. discussions with the Taliban in Dubai were destabilised by the arrest of Mr. Baradar.

The most recent indications of ongoing dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban have emerged amidst a “distinct change of heart by the Obama administration toward full backing of negotiations,” the sources said.

Labels: Haqqani network, Karzai-Taliban secret talks, Quetta Shura, Washington Post