ISLAMABAD – A Taliban delegation arrived in Kabul Tuesday to monitor the long-delayed release of their 5,000 detainees under a prisoner swap with the Afghan government brokered by the United States.
This
is the first time representatives of the Islamist insurgency have visited the
Afghan capital since a U.S.-led military invasion of the country ousted the
Taliban from power nearly 19 years ago.
“They will pursue the issue of prisoner release and help in necessary technical
steps,” said a brief Taliban announcement.
Taliban delegates reportedly traveled from southern Kandahar province to a
central Afghan city before being airlifted to Kabul by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The prisoner exchange, which requires the insurgent group to free about 1,000
government detainees, is supposed to lay the ground for peace negotiations
between Afghan parties to the conflict.
The crucial peace-building steps are outlined in the February 29 agreement that
Washington signed with the Taliban in Qatar, which aims to promote a negotiated
end to years of a deadly Afghan war.
The
pact commits the U.S. and allied nations to a 14-month phased withdrawal of
military forces in exchange for Taliban assurances to prevent terrorists from
using Afghanistan soil as a safe haven.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government, which is not part of the agreement,
was initially reluctant to free captured Taliban fighters, citing concerns they
may return to the battlefield. His refusal delayed the intra-Afghan talks that
originally were scheduled for March 10 under the U.S.-Taliban accord.
Under pressure from Washington, Ghani last week announced a 21-member
“inclusive” team of negotiators for the much-awaited intra-Afghan talks, a move
that received praise from U.S. and other foreign partners of the war-ravaged
country.
“We have seen a team identified and it looks like it’s pretty inclusive, pretty
broad. We’re happy about that. We have begun to see some work done on prisoner
releases as well,” Pompeo told reporters in Washington.
He emphasized that “all elements” will have to come together to move toward
intra-Afghan negotiations, saying they are the only “mechanism” to deliver
peace and reconciliation to the people of Afghanistan.
In a significant development Tuesday, Ghani’s main rival and self-proclaimed
president, Abdullah Abdullah, also endorsed the negotiating team as
representatives of “the Islamic State of Afghanistan.”
His announcement comes amid a lingering political dispute stemming from the
September 28 controversy-marred Afghan presidential election, which Abdullah
alleges was manipulated in favor of incumbent Ghani.
Both leaders sought competing inaugurations earlier this month, fueling
political tensions and strengthening concerns their rivalry would prevent the
formation of a united Afghan team to negotiate peace with the Taliban.
The insurgent group, however, has announced it would not negotiate with the
government-appointed delegation, saying it does not represent all Afghans and
contradicts provisions of the agreement with the U.S.
Speaking to VOA Tuesday, chief Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stressed
again that intra-Afghan talks would begin only after all insurgent prisoners
are freed. He went on to blame the Ghani government for “obstructing” and
“delaying” the prisoner swap and the next steps in the peace process.
“The
Kabul administration has also created, and continues to create, obstacles in
the way to intra-Afghan talks. It has announced an unsuitable team and even
declared it as a representative of the government,” Mujahid said.
The Taliban has from the outset rejected the government in Kabul as
illegitimate, denouncing it as an American puppet and a product of foreign
occupation of Afghanistan. The insurgent group maintains its negotiators want
to negotiate peace with all Afghan sides in their individual capacity, and not
as representatives of the government.
Source: Voice of America
