Freed Taliban Fighters Returning To Battlefield, Top Afghan Negotiator Says
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah at Embassy of Afghanistan, in New Delhi. Wikimedia commons photo
This article was originally published Sept. 23, 2020, on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
A number of Taliban prisoners who were released by the Afghan government as a condition for peace talks have returned to the battlefield, lead Kabul negotiator Abdullah Abdullah has said.
Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, said negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar have been positive since they opened in Doha on September 12, although the two sides reportedly remain far from agreement on virtually every issue.
But Abdullah said that some — though not the majority — of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners released by the Afghan authorities as a condition for talks had resumed the fight against the government.
“I do know that some have returned to the battlefield, which is a violation of the agreement that they had made,” Abdullah told an online conference with the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations on September 22.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, the level of violence inside Afghanistan has not fallen, and Abdullah called on Washington, which launched the peace process as part of a February deal with the Taliban, and Pakistan, which allegedly maintains ties to the militants, to pressure them to agree to a cease-fire.
“Unfortunately, so far, the level of violence is very high and to a level that is not acceptable for the people,” Abdullah said. “I repeat my call to the Taliban themselves and also to all partners who have any leverage over the Taliban to press on that point.”
Abdullah said he planned to travel to Pakistan soon for the first time since 2008.
The persistent violence, and the Taliban’s failure to completely cut relations with the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, was singled out as a barrier to success by U.S. officials testifying in Congress on September 22.
U.S. chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad warned that violence remains unacceptably high and Washington expects more setbacks in ongoing peace talks between Taliban militants and the Afghan government.
“By any measure, current levels of violence are too high,” Khalilzad said. “We know that reductions are possible.”
“While we have reasons to be hopeful, we are under no illusions about the challenges ahead…. We expect that there will be setbacks and obstacles,” Khalilzad said.
He added that Washington and its allies were looking at an agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan so that neither side’s territory would be used to attack the other.
“We’re hoping that by the time that these other negotiations are over, we could also achieve success in that regard,” said Khalilzad, who recently returned from Doha.
Copyright (c)2020 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
RFE/RL's mission is to promote democratic values by providing accurate, uncensored news and open debate in countries where a free press is threatened and disinformation is pervasive. RFE/RL reports the facts, undaunted by pressure.
RFE/RL is registered with the IRS as a private, nonprofit Sec. 501(c)3 corporation, and is funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) as a private grantee. All major policy determinations governing RFE/RL operations are made by RFE/RL's Board of Directors. RFE/RL's editorial independence is protected by U.S. law.
Thirty Seconds Out has partnered with BRCC for an exclusive shirt design invoking the God of Winter.
Lucas O'Hara of Grizzly Forge has teamed up with BRCC for a badass, exclusive Shirt Club T-shirt design featuring his most popular knife and tiomahawk.
Coffee or Die sits down with one of the graphic designers behind Black Rifle Coffee's signature look and vibe.
Biden will award the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam War Army helicopter pilot who risked his life to save a reconnaissance team from almost certain death.
Ever wonder how much Jack Mandaville would f*ck sh*t up if he went back in time? The American Revolution didn't even see him coming.
A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that at first appeared to yield little more than dust contains hidden treasure, the US Military Academy said.
Since the 1920s, a low-tech tabletop replica of an aircraft carrier’s flight deck has been an essential tool in coordinating air operations.
For nearly as long as the Army-Navy football rivalry, the academies’ hoofed mascots have stared each other down from the sidelines. Here are their stories.
