U.S., Taliban Aim to Work Out Date for Foreign Force Exit From Afghanistan
KABUL (Dispatches) – Upcoming peace talks between the United States and the Taliban will focus on working out a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan and on a Taliban guarantee that militants won't plot attacks from Afghan soil, sources said on Monday.
A seventh round of talks between the warring sides begins on Saturday in Qatar's capital of Doha, where U.S. and Taliban negotiators have been trying to hammer out a deal to end to the 18-year-long war since October.
"Once the timetable for foreign force withdrawal is announced, then talks will automatically enter the next stage," said Sohail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha.
"We don't need to wait for the completion of the withdrawal, both withdrawal and talks can move forward simultaneously."
The focus of the talks has been a Taliban demand for the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign forces and a U.S. demand the Taliban guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used as a base for militant attacks.
The negotiations have so far excluded Afghan officials. The Taliban refuse to hold talks with the government in Kabul, which the militant group views as illegitimate and a U.S. puppet.
The Taliban have said they will not do anything until the U.S. announces a withdrawal timeline.
The Taliban’s five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end following the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, but 17 years on, Washington — having failed to end the Taliban’s militancy campaign — is seeking truce with the militants.
Observers say the militant group is now negotiating from a position of strength as it has managed to strengthen its grip over the past three years, with the government in Kabul controlling just 56 percent of the country, down from 72 percent in 2015, according to a U.S. government report released last year.
The Taliban have even continued to carry out daily attacks on Afghan security forces amid the negotiations.
A seventh round of talks between the warring sides begins on Saturday in Qatar's capital of Doha, where U.S. and Taliban negotiators have been trying to hammer out a deal to end to the 18-year-long war since October.
"Once the timetable for foreign force withdrawal is announced, then talks will automatically enter the next stage," said Sohail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha.
"We don't need to wait for the completion of the withdrawal, both withdrawal and talks can move forward simultaneously."
The focus of the talks has been a Taliban demand for the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign forces and a U.S. demand the Taliban guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used as a base for militant attacks.
The negotiations have so far excluded Afghan officials. The Taliban refuse to hold talks with the government in Kabul, which the militant group views as illegitimate and a U.S. puppet.
The Taliban have said they will not do anything until the U.S. announces a withdrawal timeline.
The Taliban’s five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end following the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, but 17 years on, Washington — having failed to end the Taliban’s militancy campaign — is seeking truce with the militants.
Observers say the militant group is now negotiating from a position of strength as it has managed to strengthen its grip over the past three years, with the government in Kabul controlling just 56 percent of the country, down from 72 percent in 2015, according to a U.S. government report released last year.
The Taliban have even continued to carry out daily attacks on Afghan security forces amid the negotiations.