Afghan Taliban conditionally agree to dialogues in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Afghan Taliban have conditionally agreed to dialogues in Islamabad.  Sources said that Afghan Taliban had refused to directly hold dialogues with the United States of America. The Afghan Taliban have agreed to talks on condition of inclusion of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “The date for the talks is being fixed and it will be soon announced,” they added. The sources said that the Afghan Taliban are ready to hold talks with the US on the pattern of Abu Dhabi. “Pakistan had conveyed the US proposal to the Afghan Taliban,” they disclosed. On Thursday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani thanked Pakistan for its help in pushing forward peace talks with the Taliban as diplomatic efforts continued to keep the process on track. US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been leading efforts to broker an agreement with the Afghan Taliban, is in Pakistan following meetings with Ghani and other Afghan officials in Kabul. Last week, Washington had said it welcomed Islamabad's actions to promote a negotiated solution to the war in neighbouring Afghanistan. “The United States welcomes any actions by the Pakistani government to promote greater cooperation, including fostering negotiations between the Taliban, the Afghan government, and other Afghans,” a US embassy spokesperson in Kabul told Voice of America. The acknowledgement had come a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the country had arranged another round of US peace talks with the Afghan Taliban. The meetings come as diplomatic efforts to resolve the Afghan conflict have intensified, although the Taliban have so far refused to deal directly with the Western-backed government in Kabul, which it considers illegitimate. The Taliban say the presence of international forces in Afghanistan is the main obstacle to peace but have said that issues including mutual recognition with the Kabul government, constitutional changes, and women’s rights can be negotiated.