US to hold direct peace talks with Taliban

[randolph85]

the taliban will probably recognize the kabul government after the elections when karzai is gone so they don't have to eat crow when they eventually do recognize the government. i am sure the US is timing this as such while karzai is trying to speed things up.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

i consider you and barikzai abdali as one of them. thanks for shedding more light in to the matter. very kind of you.

Coming from a persian panjsh-ithead Karzai anal butt plug like yourself; that makes us centrists. Thank you for the complement. Every time anyone here is forced to even scan your nonsense they lose brain cells. I saw Shrek the other day and thought to myself "wow dzjunk and her gorilla shamalyaan look like that side kick donkey". Time to sleep. Enjoy digesting that farsiwaan.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

i consider you and barikzai abdali as one of them. thanks for shedding more light in to the matter. very kind of you.

Lightning strikes when a panj-sh-ithead uses my name in vein . Keep us entertained old clown. I got a penny in my pocket to cover more of your nonsense dumthope

[BarakzaiAbdali]

The US has decided to stop protecting your kind in Kabul which explains the frustration you have. Are you experiencing the withdrawal syndrome from the high that is greed.

Don't waste the brain cells bro. Every sentence emanating from said idiots keyboard is like a daar achawoonkee suicide attack on intelligence. She is like the mullah Omar of mental handicaps and leads a militant outfit called the retardiban. to even and try and think to that level would bog you down in a war of attrition harmful to your brain.

[khushal]

Don't waste the brain cells bro. Every sentence emanating from said idiots keyboard is like a daar achawoonkee suicide attack on intelligence. She is like the mullah Omar of mental handicaps and leads a militant outfit called the retardiban. to even and try and think to that level would bog you down in a war of attrition harmful to your brain.

She is panjshirs donkey carrying their shyt, spreading their stink

[khushal]

the taliban will probably recognize the kabul government after the elections when karzai is gone so they don't have to eat crow when they eventually do recognize the government. i am sure the US is timing this as such while karzai is trying to speed things up.

I am surprised the US dropped this demand, I mean is this not why the US claims they invaded in the first place and stayed for 12 years:

US-drops-demand-Taliban-renounce-al-Qaeda-to-allow-talks-to-progress
US drops demand Taliban renounce al-Qaeda to allow talks to progress

The US will engage in its first formal direct talks with the Taliban on Thursday, according to officials, in a milestone on the road to peace after more than a decade of war.

The first meeting will take place in Doha, the Qatari capital, after the Taliban opened their first official overseas office and Washington dropped its long-standing demand that the movement renounce ties with al-Qaeda as a precondition for the talks.


“The US will have its first formal meeting with the Taliban, and indeed first meeting with the Taliban for several years, in a couple of days in Doha,” a senior official with Obama administration said.

Afghan peace negotiators will also travel to Qatar for talks, according to President Hamid Karzai, speaking as Nato officially transferred authority to Afghan national forces on the ground in Afghanistan.


Just hours after the agreement was announced, four American soldiers were killed by insurgents during an attack on Bagram Air Base. There were very few details of the attack, but a US official said the soldiers were killed by "indirect fire", possibly rockets or mortars.

The challenges ahead were further underlined however by a suicide attack only a few miles from where Mr Karzai was speaking.The Taliban has repeatedly refused to meet Afghan peace envoys.


After months of behind-the-scenes negotiations however, including some in Norway according to Espen Barth Eide, the country’s foreign minister, the movement has now agreed to open the Doha office to facilitate talks.

“The office is to open dialogue between the Taliban and the world,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, although he made no reference to peace talks or the Afghan government. “The Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan [the group’s formal name] doesn’t want any threats from Afghanistan soil to other countries, and neither permits anyone to threaten other countries using Afghanistan soil.

“We support a political and peaceful solution that ends Afghanistan’s occupation, and guarantees the Islamic system and nationwide security.”

None of the parties are expecting any imminent breakthrough, but US officials described the opening of negotiations with the Taliban as an “important development” on the road to reconciliation.
They were at pains to be realistic about the road ahead, conceding that levels of trust between parties were “extremely low”.

Officials said the first meeting would simply be an “exchange of agendas” in which both sides laid out what issues they wanted to address. It could be followed by a second meeting in coming weeks.

Recalling the Northern Ireland peace process took years to complete, senior Obama administration officials said the Taliban office was “the first step on what – if it is successful – will be a very long road”, adding that there was “no guarantee that this process will happen quickly, if at all.”

One official significantly added that a requirement for the Taliban to drop relations with al Qaeda – something which had stymied previous attempts at direct talks – was no longer necessary in order for them to progress.

“We’ve long had a demand on the Taliban that they make a statement that distances themselves from the movement from international terrorism, but made clear that we didn’t expect immediately for them to break ties with al Qaeda, because that’s an outcome of the negotiation process,” the official said.
President Barack Obama, speaking at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, called the opening of the Taliban’s political office an important step toward reconciliation between the group and the Afghan government, although he predicted the road ahead will be long and complicated.

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, gave his backing to the talks.
“We need to match the security response in Afghanistan ... with a political process to try to make sure as many people as possible give up violence, give up an armed struggle and join the political process,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do – of course it involves all sorts of difficulties.”

Graeme Smith, of the International Crisis Group, said members of the High Peace Council themselves do not expect much progress.

“The main forces that were killing a lot of insurgents in recent years are leaving,” he said. “The insurgents don’t have a whole load of incentive to negotiate until they find out where the military balance lies after the withdrawal.”

Speaking at a heavily defended army academy just outside Kabul, Mr Karzai told Nato officials that the handover would help cement support for the Afghan security forces.
“From tomorrow, our security and defence forces will now be in the lead,” he said. “From here, all security responsibility and all security leadership will be taken by our brave forces.”
Some 97,000 international troops remain in the country. From now until the end of next year their role will be largely to train and advise local forces.

The transfer of the last 95 districts from Nato to Afghan control include some of the areas still affected by Taliban attacks, including Kandahar — the spiritual home of the movement — and territories that border Pakistan.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato secretary-general, was in Kabul for the handover. He said the coalition will help militarily if and when needed but will no longer plan, execute or lead operations.
“Ten years ago, there were no Afghan national security forces. Five years ago, Afghan forces were a fraction of what they are today,” he said.

“Now you have 350,000 Afghan troops and police. A formidable force. And time and again, we have seen them dealing quickly and competently with complex attacks. Defeating the enemies of Afghanistan, and defending and protecting the Afghan people.”

[Kushan Prince]

She is panjshirs donkey carrying their shyt, spreading their stink

Why do you guys keep constantly insult her? She's a pashtana so give some respect. There's a reason why a lot of female members have left this forum, because of the lack of respect shown to women here.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

Why do you guys keep constantly insult her? She's a pashtana so give some respect. There's a reason why a lot of female members have left this forum, because of the lack of respect shown to women here.

The women on this forum sometimes tend to be like women challenging a men for a wrestling match. What do you expect?

[asad71]

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/13f5ca002fdd2133

BREAKING NEWS Wednesday, June 19, 2013 9:18 AM EDT
Afghanistan Rejects Talks With Taliban and the U.S.

[randolph85]

Taliban’s Islamic Emirate flag removed from Qatar office - Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan Online Newspaper

According to reports the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan flag which was raised during the opening of the Taliban political office in Qatar has been taken down.
An official in Qatar speaking on the condition of anonymity said other banners and signs of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has also been taken down.
The Taliban political office was opened in Qatar on Tuesday in the absence of Afghan government officials.
The government of Afghanistan boycotted talks with the Taliban group and insisted that no peace negotiations will take unless the Afghans have full leadership of the peace process.
Afghanistan on Wednesdasy also suspended talks over security agreement with the United States of America in protest to opening of Taliban political office in Qatar.
Afghan national council office in a statement said, “In view of the contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the Peace Process, the Afghan government suspended the negotiations, currently underway in Kabul between Afghan and US delegations on the Bilateral Security Agreement.”
An official in Afghan presidential also confirmed the report and said US Secretary of State John Kerry has assured that the name of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been removed from Taliban office in Qatar.
Qatar’s foreign ministry officials quoted by QNA state news agency said, “The office that was opened in Doha yesterday is the political office of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and is not the political office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

[randolph85]

Interview: Taliban Spokesman Says Qatar Office Marks Beginning Of Political Track

Taliban officials in the newly opened Taliban office in Qatar say the opening of their office is a response to calls by their opponents for the launch of a political process to end three decades of fighting in Afghanistan. In an interview with RFE/RL correspondent Abubakar Siddique, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem explained the hard-line movement's motives and aspirations behind the opening of their contact office in the Qatari capital, Doha.

RFE/RL: How were you able to open this office in Qatar, given that you've had a deadlock with Washington since accusing them of reneging on their promises 18 months ago?

Mohammad Naeem: The opening of this office is based on an understanding between the Islamic Emirate (Editor's note: the formal name of the Afghan Taliban) and Qatar. In 2011, we requested that the government of Qatar help open a political office for the Islamic Emirate in their country. Qatar has now in 2013 shown its willingness to act on our request.

RFE/RL: You recently said that you will begin talking to Washington soon. What will the agenda be for these talks?

Naeem: This will be the first formal round of talks between the Islamic Emirate and the United States of America. So we will not talk about any specific issues; it will be an opportunity to exchange views. It is possible that we will have a specific agenda for the second and third rounds of talks.

RELATED STORY: Taliban Hints At Eventual Power Sharing In Afghanistan

RFE/RL: In the past, you insisted that no talks could begin until Taliban leaders detained at Guantanamo Bay were released. Are they being freed now?

Naeem: We will talk about that issue. In the past, we had no address or contact office where we could sit down with people and talk about such issues.

RFE/RL: You have always described the foreign occupation as the primary motive behind your insurgency. Has that problem has been resolved since foreign forces began the last phase of transitioning security responsibilities to Afghan government troops?

Naeem: The whole world and our people are witness to the fact that foreign forces still operate in Afghanistan. Despite calling it a transition to Afghan security forces, the foreign forces conduct military operations on their own. As long as foreign forces are there, we cannot call it the end of occupation.

TALIBAN TALKS: What's On The Table?

RFE/RL: Will you talk to the representatives of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai in you Qatar office?

Naeem: Yes, one of the main objectives of opening this office is to meet Afghans. All Afghans can consult us in that office.

RFE/RL: Previously, you described President Karzai's administration as a "puppet regime." Are you ready to talk to Karzai officials now?

Naeem: Our policy is clear. We have said that the problem in Afghanistan has two important aspects. One aspect is related to the occupation of Afghanistan by foreign forces; this is the important part. Until that issue is resolved, we see no benefit in talking about solving the internal aspect. We will think about addressing the internal aspect after sorting out our problems with the foreigners.

RFE/RL: Many Afghans say it is impossible for any peace talks to bear fruit so long as violence continues. How do you respond?

Naeem: As Afghans, their suffering worries us. We have opened this office because our opponents said they wanted to solve this problem through a political process. Now this is our response to that.

RFE/RL: But in your recent statements, you have made it clear that you will continue fighting, even as talks commence. Why won't you declare a cease-fire?

Naeem: We all know that once two sides sit across the table from each other, then we can talk about these issues. It is not so simple and won't be normal or rational to expect to achieve this [a cease-fire] in a couple days. We will look into this after listening to what they have to say.

RFE/RL: Your movement has always declared the implementation of Islamic law as one of its paramount objectives. But Afghanistan's current constitution already gives Islam primacy in all laws. What specific changes do you seek to implement?

Naeem: The most important issue here is the issue of sovereignty. The current administration in Kabul is not sovereign. How can it then implement [Islamic] laws or harmonize them with the demands of the present times. In the past 12 years, we have seen that despite all their resources and the international political backing and military aid, they have failed to serve our people in a significant manner.

RFE/RL: What kind of political system you want to put in place for the future? Do you want to restore the political system the Taliban created in the 1990s, or are you willing to negotiate an accommodation with other Afghans?

Naeem: In his speeches and statements, our leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has repeatedly said that we want a government that includes all Afghans. It should be a government in which all our people and their representatives can participate and be a part. It should give Afghans hope that it is a government for all of them and this country belongs to all of them.

[Talal]

There was article published in tribune which im not posting here for the sake of drawing flak from members here but essentially US has decided to ditch Karzai completely that is why they have formally come out with this Taliban bonhomie. In a nutshell ladies and gentlemen, this is as close as you are going to get to see the US raise the white flag in Afghanistan.

5 key taliban prisoners are going to be released from guantanamo whereas the taliban are going to release a captured US soldier.

[Kushan Prince]

Wow so its finally happening, Peace will finally be restored in Afghanistan and NATO is withdrawing.

[Shah-i-Kot]

Taliban's Qatar office stokes Karzai's ire

Taliban's Qatar office stokes Karzai's ire



Afghan government is angry the Taliban raised their flag and vowed to continue fighting after opening their Doha centre.


Ali M Latifi Last Modified: 21 Jun 2013 06:53




Kabul, Afghanistan - Standing at a podium with his image emblazoned on the wall behind him, Afghan President Hamid Karzai earnestly tried to earn the world's confidence in his government the day his military formally took over security from NATO.
With NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen standing next to him, Karzai called June 18 "a great day where the Afghan people will see their own children providing protection to their lives and to their country".
But events that transpired before and after Tuesday's press conference have brought the complicated web of Afghan policy to the world stage.
Hours after Karzai spoke, the world's attention shifted to a press conference some 4,000 kilometres away, held by the other central party in the Afghan conflict, the Taliban.
The highly orchestrated event marking the opening of a much-delayed Taliban political office in Doha, Qatar was the result of year-long negotiations between Washington and representatives of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban refers to itself.
Statements made by Taliban officials Sohail Shaheen and Mullah Naeem - speaking in English and Pashto - immediately stoked the ire of the Karzai government, which also spent much of the last year trying to engage in direct talks with the group.




Talks cancelled
A day after the announcement, the Afghan government called off negotiations between Kabul and Washington on a bilateral security agreement. A statement released by the presidential palace said the suspension was in response to "the contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the Peace Process".



This "contradiction" was most evident in the black-and-white flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that hung behind the two Taliban representatives, a move an official involved in the negotiations told Al Jazeera came as a shock to Washington.
"Until the last minute, the White House never cleared the Taliban to hang their flag," the official said, requesting anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak to the press.
Karzai had specifically raised the issue of the flag during a March meeting with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, because it leads to the perception that "there are two states within the Afghan nation", said the official.
Another contradiction at the Taliban's presser was a vow to continue fighting until a ceasefire is signed.
Qasim Yar is a senior member of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, the body tasked by the Karzai government to negotiate with the Taliban. He said what was said at the press conference came as a surprise.
"When they enjoy the Qatari's assistance, financial, logistics - an office, a building, and political protection - and support of the US, and then from there they command that Afghan children be killed, women be killed, the elderly be killed … what does this mean?
"It means that their terrorist attacks are under the protection of the Qatari government and the US government," Yar said.
Initially optimistic about Afghan representatives being dispatched to Doha, the Karzai's attitude had abruptly changed by Wednesday. "As long as the peace process is not Afghan-led, the High Peace Council will not participate in the talks in Qatar," Karzai said.
Unilateral decision



The cessation of talks around the bilateral security agreement has further highlighted the tempestuous relationship between Afghanistan and the United States.


Those familiar with the events that led to the political office's opening framed it as a unilateral decision borne out of US frustration with the Karzai government.
Washington's decision was relayed to Karzai during a recent phone call between the Afghan president and John Kerry, the US secretary of state.
"We can't keep waiting for you. Your government keeps saying they're in communication with the Taliban, but we have seen no progress", Waheed Mozhdah, a former official in the foreign ministry of the Taliban government, quoted Kerry as saying.


Along with growing impatience towards the Afghan government, Mozhdah said Washington was compelled to talk by recent Taliban inroads with Iran and Lebanon.
A June 4 statement issued by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, confirmed a Taliban delegation headed by the chief of the political office had embarked on a three-day visit to Tehran to make "heard the voices and demands of [the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's] people and Mujahideen".
The presence of heavy machinery in the western province of Herat "usually found in Lebanon" further worried the US, Mozhdah told Al Jazeera.
Specific directives
Long wary of the relationship between the Taliban and Pakistan, Mozhdah said the potential of a partnership with Iran - a country that, unlike Pakistan, the US has little leverage over. That "really frightened the United States", he said.
Even though talks broke down last year officially, the CIA and Britain's MI6 intelligence service have been talking unofficially to the Taliban since then.
The official involved in the negotiations said once the decision had been made by Washington to officially sanction the political office in the Qatari capital, the Taliban was given specific directives, including severing ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.



At the Doha press conference, the Taliban representatives said their "independent Islamic system" in Afghanistan "will [not] allow anyone to cause a threat to the security of countries from the soil of Afghanistan".
That statement, said the official, "was the Taliban's way of saying they are distancing themselves from al-Qaeda, without having to say it outright".
Further, those Taliban involved in negotiations must not return to the battlefield. "If the violence continues, there is no political gravitas," the official said.
For the Taliban, adhering to US demands would pay dividends. "In the next few months, we will see four Taliban prisoners in Guantanamo handed over to Qatari authorities," he said, adding that issue had led to the original breakdown of official talks last year.
The Taliban also stand to gain a security role in Afghanistan, the official said.
However, speaking to Al Jazeera after the Doha press conference, Mohammad Sohail Shaheen said without a ceasefire, "[Taliban-led] attacking will continue in parallel with the peaceful talks for peace".
That pledge was fulfilled only hours later when the group took responsibility for rocket attacks that killed four US soldiers near Bagram Air Base, 60 kilometres north of Kabul.
Return to the past?


The Taliban has shown little interest in speaking with the Karzai government. The Doha office was conceived as "an address only to negotiate with the US", Mozhdah said.
The refusal of the Taliban to speak to Karzai and his government is both political and personal.


According to Daoud Sultanzoy, a former Afghan MP, a Taliban willingness to approach a government that is seen as "void of support in this country, it will be seen as contradictory to what they say they stand for".
On a personal level, the official involved in negotiations the Taliban hates Karzai. As a Kanadahari Pashtun working with what the Taliban see as "occupying" forces, Karzai "is seen as a traitor", he told Al Jazeera
Mozhdah said the Taliban were actively trying to court the Afghan political opposition, with whom they are keen to negotiate.
For many Afghans, especially young ones, any talks with the Taliban should come with caveats.
Afghanistan 1400, a group that refers to itself as "a national movement of Afghanistan's new generation", warned the Doha political office should not be "perceived as any openness of the people of Afghanistan, in particular our new generation, to backtracking on the hard-won achievements of the past decade".
"The only purpose the Taliban's office in Doha ought to serve is as an address for holding their leaders accountable for their terror and attempts at denying ordinary Afghans a peaceful future," the group said in a statement released on Wednesday.
These statements were echoed by Pashtun Women Viewpoint, a London-based group whose members include female academics, activists, and writers.
Heelai Noor, the group's co-founder, told Al Jazeera by excluding the Afghan government in the Doha negotiations, Qatar and the United States were "supporting a group, which was ironically deemed a terrorist organisation by the whole world until recently, over a legally elected democratic government in Afghanistan".

Taliban's Qatar office stokes Karzai's ire - Features - Al Jazeera English

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

In Depth Analysis Of Karzai suspending Talks with Americans and Taliban |

The recent inauguration of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar created a highly tense situation where the Afghan government failed to respond appropriately. The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, the representatives of the Afghan parliament and the High Peace Council joined one another in denouncing the way this office was inaugurated. Some suggested that the name (Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan) and the display of symbols such as the Taliban flag have offended the Karzai government. Therefore Karzai announced that he is stalling the security negotiations with the Americans.

The truth is, merely the name and raising of the flag are not sufficient to cause such a reaction. The real reason behind the response of the Afghan government can be found in the official statement issued by the Taliban. By inspecting the official statement, we can see why Karzai, the parliament and the High Peace Council were offended. Let us take a closer look at what was actually said.

Everyone is aware that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been waging Jihad and working tirelessly to bring an end to the invasion of Afghanistan and establish in it an independent Islamic government

Aside from the fact that the Taliban continue to regard Afghanistan as occupied, they express their desire to establish an independent Islamic government. This suggests that:

1. The current regime in Kabul is not independent;
2. Neither is it Islamic according to the Taliban;
3. Taliban desire is to establish one that meets two conditions ( Islamic & independent).

This specific portion of the statement is sufficient to offend the entire establishment in Kabul. The Taliban deny the Afghan government the pleasure of being considered Islamic and independent. The two most important ingredients a state needs in the Muslim world to obtain legitimacy. Aside from this, there is a delicate cultural context to this matter. In any kind of conflict in Afghanistan, when you insult your opponent from the outset, you basically exclude him from the dialogue. You can carry on talking about the conflict, but you do discredit the opposing party and deny him the opportunity to be considered as a respected entity of equal status. Thus, the reaction of the Kabul government comes as natural, yet not very rational. More on this later.

The next portion of the statement that is considered as problematic by the Afghan government is the fact that the Taliban say that:

“The Islamic Emirates does not wish to harm other countries from ‘its’ soil. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has both military as well as political objectives which are confined to Afghanistan”.

Notice the emphasis on “its” in the quoted segment. The political implication of this is quite profound. The Americans and the Afghan government expect from the Taliban to severe their ties with Al Qaeda and denounce global Jihadist ideology. However, the Taliban cunningly profited from this demand by pushing their own political agenda. They have declared that they do not wish to harm others and they have referred to Afghanistan as their soil suggesting the Islamic Emirates is a government with the ability to stipulate Afghanistan’s foreign policy and political affairs with their neighbors and the international community.

The recent official visit to Iran by a Taliban delegation is also addressed in the statement. The visit was the cause of yet more concerns for the already anxious Afghan government. This concern is ever more increased by the following segment.

The Islamic Emirate does not wish to harm other countries from its soil and neither will it allow others use Afghan soil to pose a threat to the security of other nations!

This particular sentence can be read and interpreted in two different ways:

1. The Taliban do not wish to allow Al Qaeda to attack other countries from its soil

2. We won’t allow American permanent bases in Afghanistan to pose as a threat to Iran and Pakistan

The latter interpretation of this sentence is worrying the Afghan government because the Taliban show absolutely no willingness to accept the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan after 2014 as they deem it as a threat to Afghanistan’s neighbors. This only helps the Taliban cause and brings them closer to the distrusted neighbors of the Afghan government.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants to have cordial relations on basis of mutual respect with all the countries of the world including its neighbors and desires security for its nation as well as security and justice on international level.

To add insult to injury, they are setting up conditions for their ties and relationships with other political entities by demanding mutual respect, which can only mean one thing. Namely that they want to sit around the negotiation table with anybody as equals. Furthermore, they are saying that they want to engage in discussions and debates in the international political arena regarding security and justice. In other words, they want to have say in all the ongoing debates regarding security and justice around the world, which will only increases their role as a player in international politics.

Undoubtedly the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers it its religious and national obligation to free its country from occupation

By stating that they consider this to be their obligation, they suggest that they are the one and only political entity concerned with the political affairs of Afghanistan as such. This sentence negates the role of others including Hizb-e-Islami and various factions loosely tied to the Kabul government. Every non-state actor in the political arena in Afghanistan would read this sentence as a blatant refusal to be recognized as partners in any future dialogue. This is why representatives of various political parties in Kabul expressed their dissatisfaction with the opening of this office in Qatar.

Similarly, it considers the struggle of every oppressed nation working for their due rights and independence to be their legitimate right because every nation deserves to secure freedom from imperialism and attain their rights.

Over the course of the past decade, the Taliban occasionally issued statements regarding the ongoing conflicts across the globe where similar Islamic parties appear as an armed opposition. By referring to other ongoing conflicts they imply that it is quite possible that the Qatar office will be utilized as a platform for the Taliban to seek political ties with armed groups in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Mali and other warzones. The Afghan government is concerned because the Taliban’s desire to increase their political clout by acting as a legitimate and senior party representing the cause of Islamists and militants all across the Islamic world will become a reality.

To have meetings with Afghans in due appropriate time

As it appears, The Taliban obviously do not consider talking with the Kabul government as a priority. Furthermore, they exclude the name of the Afghan government or the High Peace Council in the entire statement. Instead, they merely suggest their wish to talk with “Afghans” in due time. This is quite consistent with the whole rhetoric applied in this statement. A rhetoric obviously designed to instigates a reaction from the Afghan government the Taliban need to further discredit them.

The reaction of the Afghan government wasn’t rational. In fact, we could say that in the current game of politics played in Afghanistan, the Afghan government managed to make an own goal. While the pace in the game of politics in Afghanistan is becoming ever more swift and unpredictable, the Afghan government is isolating itself by taking offence and falling in a well prepared trap by the Taliban.

The presence of the Taliban flag and the name of the office remain unchanged despite reports suggesting otherwise. However, the statement was issued and it does not look like the Taliban are willing to retract it, or say anything that would ease the tensions at the moment.

Over the course of the last two decades, the Taliban have evolved from a ragtag vigilante movement to a media savvy political heavyweight in the region. Despite all the help from the international community and years of experience of the politicians in the Afghan government, they have failed to play the game as they should. As a result, the near future of Afghanistan remains uncertain where the Kabul government is consistently failing to play its part.

In the upcoming days, we will undoubtedly witness significant developments, however, the Afghan government won’t of any major influence. The Taliban have made their move, the Afghan government failed to utilize the opportunity, thus, the only party that is able to make any difference now is the American government. Therefore, our attention should be focused on what the Obama administration is going to do by the end of this week.