[The main representative of the Afghan
government was Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, who was, at the time, a crucial
member of the country’s Peace Council, the group charged with exploring talks
with the insurgency, and since then has been nominated by President Ashraf
Ghani as defense minister. On the other side of the table were three figures
from the oldTaliban government
in Afghanistan, according to current and former officials with knowledge of the
discussions who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity because of
diplomatic sensitivities.]
By Edward Wong and Mujib Mashal
BEIJING
— A peace envoy from Afghanistan met
in western China last
week with former Taliban officials
with close ties to Pakistan’s
intelligence agency, in an attempt to keep open the possibility of formal
Afghan peace talks, officials said on Monday.
The meeting, hosted by China and,
in part, organized by Pakistani officials, took place on Wednesday and Thursday
in Urumqi, capital of the western region of Xinjiang, which has mountainous borders with Afghanistan andPakistan and
is home to many Muslims.
The main representative of the Afghan
government was Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, who was, at the time, a crucial
member of the country’s Peace Council, the group charged with exploring talks
with the insurgency, and since then has been nominated by President Ashraf
Ghani as defense minister. On the other side of the table were three figures
from the oldTaliban government
in Afghanistan, according to current and former officials with knowledge of the
discussions who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity because of
diplomatic sensitivities.
Mr. Stanekzai is awaiting confirmation as
defense minister and has been the architect of efforts by the government to
begin formal peace negotiations.
“The meeting resulted from cooperation of the
Pakistan and Afghan governments with the support of China,” said Barnett Rubin,
a veteran scholar of Afghanistan who has worked in the United States government
on Afghanistan policy.
The fact that China agreed to host the talks
was the latest sign that Beijing is encouraging peace efforts and an end to
Afghanistan’s 13-year civil war. In late 2014, two Afghan Taliban officials came to Beijing with Pakistani officials
to discuss peace moves.
The Taliban members came to Urumqi to
reiterate familiar positions, and the representatives of the Afghan government
said it was ready to make a strong effort to build trust if the Taliban agreed
to peace negotiations, a senior Afghan official said.
At the moment, Mr. Ghani is more focused on
trying to quell a deadly offensive by the Taliban than on organizing peace
talks.
Mr. Ghani’s spokesman, Ajmal Obaid Abidy, said
Monday that “the Afghan government has not conducted any negotiations yet.”
“We stand by our promise to the Afghan people
that when the talks begin, they will be transparent and the people will be
informed,” he said.
The Taliban, for their part, issued a
statement on Sunday saying that they never took part in a meeting with the
Afghan government. But the three main Taliban attendees were not official
representatives of the Afghan Taliban. They live in Pakistan, where they are
said to have regular contact with the Pakistani spy agency.
The three were Mullah Jalil, a former foreign
minister; Mullah Abdul Razaq, a former interior minister; and Mullah Hassan
Rahmani, a former governor of Kandahar Province.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said
Monday that she had no specific information on the meeting in Urumqi, which was first
reported by The Wall Street Journal.
“I am not aware of the situation you
mentioned,” the spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said at a regularly scheduled news
conference in Beijing. “As a friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, China highly
values developing China-Afghanistan relations and hopes that Afghanistan will
achieve enduring peace, stability and development at an early date.”
Li Xin, the head of the Center for Russia and
Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies,
said: “China simply provided them a place to talk, in a bid to stabilize the
situation in Afghanistan. It is normal, since both sides find it difficult to
meet face to face in their own country. It is more convenient for them to
negotiate on the territory of a third party that can mediate the disputes.”
Mr. Li added: “China still upholds its
noninterference principle, but it intends to play a much bigger role in
stabilizing its western border as the situation deteriorates. Military
intervention is not an option for China, so it can only push for talks among
all parties to realize regional peace.”
Edward Wong reported from Beijing, and Mujib
Mashal from Kabul, Afghanistan. Yufan Huang contributed research from Beijing.
*
TALIBAN-ISIS CLASHES LEAVE 27DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN
KABUL: Ongoing clashes between Taliban and
Islamic State jihadists in western Afghanistan have left at least 27
insurgents dead and 20 other people injured, officials told Efe news agency on
Monday.
Afghan military spokesman Mohamad Hanif Rezaey specified that 15 ISIS jihadists
and 12 from the Taliban were killed in fighting on Sunday afternoon in three
areas within Farah province's Khak-e-Safid district.
Among the injured were 13 ISIS members and seven from Taliban ranks.
"Taliban fighters captured alive 12 alleged ISIS members, including four
women of foreign nationalities, however, their nationalities are still
uncertain," the spokesperson explained, adding that Afghan security forces
would not intervene unless civilians become involved.
Armed feuds broke out just a few hours after Nato's mission in Afghanistan
warned of the growing IS presence in the country, while the government has been
at war with the Taliban for 14 years.
The spokesperson of the Atlantic alliance's "Resolute Support"
mission, Armando Perez, told Efe on Sunday that although the development of the
insurgent group was still unstable, "it continues to have aspirations for
the entire region" and has been recruiting actively.
In the last two weeks, at least 19 insurgents from both groups have lost their
lives in clashes to gain control over several strategic areas in the province
of Nangarhar in eastern Afghanistan.
At the end of 2014, Nato terminated its International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) mission in Afghanistan to make way for Operation Resolute Support, under
which Nato maintains around 4,000 soldiers to train and support Afghan security
forces.
Meanwhile, the US has about 11,000 soldiers in Afghanistan under its
anti-terrorism combat mandate until at least 2016, as Washington re-evaluates
its withdrawal timeframe.
