[Violence has gotten worse in recent weeks as the weather has warmed across Afghanistan, with each side killing dozens of the other’s forces every day. Last month, the government pre-empted the Taliban by announcing its own spring military offensive, amid Afghan leaders’ frustration over having been left out of the talks aimed at setting terms for an American troop withdrawal.]
By
Mujib Mashal
 |
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The
site of a suicide attack this week that killed American service members near
Bagram
Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed
responsibility
for it. Credit Rahmat Gul/Associated Press
|
KABUL,
Afghanistan — The Taliban
announced the beginning of their spring offensive on Friday, even as the
insurgents said the United Nations had lifted travel bans on 15 of their senior
leaders to facilitate peace talks with the United States.
The announcements were a sign that though the
peace talks are gaining momentum, with an Afghan delegation expected to meet
with insurgents soon, fighting is likely to intensify all over the country.
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Violence has gotten worse in recent weeks as
the weather has warmed across Afghanistan, with each side killing dozens of the
other’s forces every day. Last month, the government pre-empted the Taliban by
announcing its own spring military offensive, amid Afghan leaders’ frustration
over having been left out of the talks aimed at setting terms for an American
troop withdrawal.
Two senior Western officials said the
government’s early announcement appeared to have been a mistake, with
lower-ranking officials having released it without the leadership’s approval.
President Ashraf Ghani signed off on the security plan nearly two weeks after
it was announced.
Mr. Ghani has bristled at the Americans’
decision to negotiate directly with the Taliban, despite the insurgents’ having
refused to talk to his government. Mr. Ghani’s national security adviser,
Hamdullah Mohib, took those frustrations to Washington last month, harshly
criticizing Zalmay Khalilzad, the special envoy leading the American side at
the talks in Qatar.
Recently, negotiators have been focused on
moving the talks to the next stage, in which the Taliban would meet with
Afghans, including delegates from the government, to discuss the country’s
political future.
Mr. Khalilzad spent nearly a week in Kabul
urging Afghan leaders to unite around a negotiating team before he flew to
Qatar this week. Although senior Afghan political leaders have been meeting to
iron out their disagreements, they appear to be some distance from reaching a
consensus, with election-season mistrust complicating the discussions.
Abdullah Abdullah, the government’s chief
executive and Mr. Ghani’s coalition partner, has threatened to boycott a grand
council of thousands of elders that Mr. Ghani has called for next month to
discuss peace, a senior official said. Mr. Abdullah and several other
politicians challenging Mr. Ghani for the presidency, in elections scheduled
for September, fear that Mr. Ghani will use the forum to advance his campaign.
Mr. Khalilzad’s visit to Kabul was followed
by an unannounced trip by Gina Haspel, the director of the Central Intelligence
Agency, Afghan officials said.
The Taliban and a large delegation from
Afghanistan, including government representatives, are expected to meet next
week in Qatar for what is being described as an icebreaker conference, one that
could eventually lead to direct negotiations.
American officials have been seeking waivers
to the United Nations travel ban for several senior Taliban officials in order
to facilitate the peace process, according to Afghan and Western officials. On
Friday, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that 15 of the
insurgency’s senior leaders had been removed from the travel sanctions list,
for an initial period of nine months.
A senior Western official said only 11
Taliban negotiators had gotten travel waivers, and that they remained on the
U.N. blacklist for all purposes except traveling for peace talks.
One Afghan official, speaking on condition of
anonymity to discuss diplomatic efforts, said the United States had given the
Afghan government a list of about a dozen Taliban members for whom it was
requesting the waivers. But the official said the Americans had not given the
government enough time to vet those names and give its approval. That process
would include convening the Afghan national security council to discuss the
matter.
It was unclear what Mr. Khalilzad may have
gotten from the Taliban in return for what appears to be a major concession.
The Taliban have long wanted their leaders removed from the sanctions list.
On Thursday, the Taliban said they had barred
the Red Cross and the World Health Organization from operating in the parts of
Afghanistan they control, saying they had engaged in “suspicious” activities.
The Red Cross delivers medicine to the war’s front lines and helps retrieve
bodies, while the World Health Organization is involved in carrying out polio
vaccinations.
The insurgents revoked security guarantees
for the Red Cross last fall but restored them months later, after their talks
with the United States began in Qatar.
Robin Waudo, a spokesman for the Red Cross in
Afghanistan, said Friday that the group had seen the insurgents’ statement
online and was “seeking to engage bilaterally and confidentially with the
Taliban on it. At the same time we have put our activities on hold around the
country.”
