Islamabad
Following rejection of direct talks with Kabul by Taliban without acceptance of their demands, a situation of standstill prevails in war torn Afghanistan while the four-country coordinator group is also maintaining a silence with the hope that sooner or later militants may follow the hardliner Gulbaddin Hekmatyar’s Hezbe Islami, which had entered into dialogue with Afghan high peace council on terms of power sharing with the sitting Kabul regime.
Last meeting of the coordinator group was held in Kabul on February 23 in which it was decided that first round direct talks among the Kabul government and Taliban would be held in first week of March with the warning that failing the process, the group would launch a joint action plan against Taliban who consequently rejected any talks with Kabul unless their demands were met.
Indications are that the Kabul government has, in principle, agreed to the mechanism agreed between two member HIA delegation arrived from Europe on March 17 and the high peace council which is spearheading negotiations. The coordinator group may meet in next couple of weeks to chalk out a joint strategy to combat and wipe out militancy from the country.
A radio free Afghanistan report on Saturday said quoting peace council sources that the issues with the Hekmatyar’s HIA were almost settled and very soon his party may join the coalition government. Hekmatyar once a formidable fighter outfit turned into a minority group is among the most radical of the hard-line militants in Afghanistan. But the Afghan government opened discussions with a delegation sent by Hekmatyar on March 17 in the hope that a negotiated settlement could convince other insurgent groups, such as Taliban, to join the peace talks.Meanwhile, Taliban apparently preparing their so called ‘spring offensive’ are in the process of large scale preparations to open new fronts while they are constantly progressing Kandhar and Kunduz provinces. In this scenario the Kabul government may formally request the US to send reinforcements to augment its operations in width and length of the country as its own troops are still far from establishing writ in several provinces of the country.
Washington is withholding its decision to give peace a chance while Islamabad is also continuing the efforts to persuade Taliban leadership to come to the negotiation table and its representatives are in constant touch with them.
