[The Afghan government has given Pakistan a list of specific insurgents with whom it hopes to negotiate, the Afghan official said. Hoping to achieve some immediate reduction in violence, Mr. Ghani’s government wants to engage commanders in the field, as well as political leaders abroad who have direct influence over the level of fighting.]
By Rod Nordland and
Mujib Mashal
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban said
on Saturday that they would not participate in international peace talks,
citing what they claimed were increased American airstrikes and Afghan
government military operations.
The
talks, convened by the United States, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, were
expected to start this month in Pakistan. Taliban envoys were expected to join
the discussions after being pressured by the Pakistani government, which
provides the insurgents with sanctuaries inside its territory. Afghan and
Pakistani government officials said the talks would continue despite the
Taliban statement, but pushed the start date back to sometime later this month.
In a
statement posted on the insurgents’ website, the Taliban denied that a
representative would attend the talks. “We reject all such rumors and
unequivocally state that the esteemed leader of Islamic Emirate has not
authorized anyone to participate in this meeting,” read the statement, posted
in English.
Previous
talks have taken place without Taliban representatives present, but Afghan and
Pakistani officials had expressed confidence that direct talks between the
Afghan government and the militants would resume in March, and they maintained
that position on Saturday.
“This
is just public bargaining on the part of the Taliban,” said an official close
to President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity because the subject is a delicate one. “They did it last time, too.
They put out a statement of denial, and then they showed up to talks.”
The
official said the Pakistan military leader, Gen. Raheel Sharif, who visited
Kabul last week, had assured Afghan leaders that talks would go ahead.
Direct
talks began last summer in Pakistan, but quickly fell apart after Afghan
officials concerned about the authority of the insurgent delegation leaked word
that the Taliban’s longtime leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, had been dead for two
years.
The
leader who took over, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, had been known to favor
participation in the negotiations. Since Mullah Mansour took power, the group
has been riven by dissension over the leadership change, and fighting off
challenges in some areas from insurgents allied with the Islamic State group.
The
Afghan government has given Pakistan a list of specific insurgents with whom it
hopes to negotiate, the Afghan official said. Hoping to achieve some immediate
reduction in violence, Mr. Ghani’s government wants to engage commanders in the
field, as well as political leaders abroad who have direct influence over the
level of fighting.
The
request does not seem to have gone over well with Taliban leaders, who have
insisted that their political office in Qatar is the only address for peace
talks. In their statement, the Taliban said they opposed talks because they had
not been “kept informed about the negotiations from the onset” and because the
United States had deployed additional troops, and carried out airstrikes and
night raids. It also said the government in Kabul had increased military operations
in the winter.
While
there are no confirmed reports that the United States has increased troop
levels in Afghanistan — there are now about 10,000 American service members in
the country — the United States military is carrying out airstrikes in support
of Afghan government operations and secret American Special Operations
missions. Both the Taliban and the government have maintained steady military
operations throughout the winter, normally a time of decreased hostilities. The
militants said they had no intention of joining talks as long as the country
was under what they described as foreign occupation.
A
spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, said the
four countries sponsoring the talks had recommended that there should be no
preconditions. “All four countries are making efforts to bring the Taliban
groups to the negotiation table,” he said.
Pakistan
has leverage over the Taliban because the group enjoys sanctuary in Pakistani
territory, and many of its fighters receive medical treatment there. Afghan
officials have accused Pakistan of failing to push the insurgents to
participate in peace talks, but in recent months Pakistani officials there have
pledged support for the effort. In addition, China has encouraged the Taliban
and Pakistan to join the peace process.
Salman
Masood contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan, and Jawad Sukhanyar from
Kabul.