Urging Clear U.S. Stance on Pullout

Taliban Say Not to Attend Turkey Meeting

Date: 12 April 2021 - 21:30

News ID: ۸۹۰۸۰

KABUL (Dispatches) – Afghan militant group Taliban say they are "not ready” yet to participate in a meeting in Turkey scheduled to be held April 16, due to their "consultations on the details of the event,” spokesperson Mohammad Naeem announced Monday.
According to TOLOnews, the spokesperson expressed that the Taliban are "reviewing the details of the Turkey conference agenda.”
The leadership of the Taliban has not made "a final decision on the agenda” and "the formation of its delegation” for the Istanbul conference Naeem said, and added that they will soon announce their stance on the issue.
"The Taliban have said that things will not move forward unless the issue of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan is made clear, therefore, I think that the Turkey conference will not be held unless these issues are made clear,” expressed former Taliban commander Sayed Akbar Agha on the issue.
The Afghan government Sunday announced that a cohesive and unified strategy had been finalized ahead of the planned talks set to take place in Istanbul.
According to the country’s High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), the strategy is designed to protect democracy, fundamental rights and institutions in the country.
The council said the strategy emphasizes strong regional and global guarantees to put an end to war, and for the implementation of the agreement in Afghanistan.
On Saturday, Washington’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad held separate meetings with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chairperson of the HCNR, as well as other senior officials.
In his meeting with Abdullah, the U.S. official said the world expects "Afghanistan to attend the Istanbul Conference with a uniform strategy,” the HCNR said in a separate statement.
Last month, a top U.S. Democrat said President Joe Biden is looking to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond a May 1 deadline, warning that U.S. troops would be vulnerable and could "lose lives” if they remained in the country.
House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith said Biden is exploring a deal in which the Taliban would allow a "U.S. counter-terrorism force” to remain in Afghanistan.
Under an agreement reached between the Taliban and the administration of former president Donald Trump, Washington promised to withdraw troops by May.
President Biden, however, reneged on the deal and said it would be "tough” to meet the deadline to withdraw all the remaining troops and that his administration was consulting with allies and in the process of making a decision.