Daily Times

Afghan Taliban have called for some preliminary steps before the beginning of the peace talks, which they describe as essential for peace and parts of confidence building measures.

Head of the Taliban political office in Qatar, Sher Abbas Stanekzai, read out a long statement in the multi-nation conference in Moscow on Friday that listed CBMs including removal of sanctions list, release of detainees, formally opening of the office and stopping of what they called “poisonous propaganda,” against the insurgents.

“Peace negotiations and sanctions list are two contradictory concepts and can’t go side by side. It is therefore required that these baseless sanctions and reward lists, that are used as a pressure tool for their interests, should be finished so that representatives of the Islamic Emirate are able to participate in peace talks in different places without any hurdle,” the Taliban leader told the Moscow-format consultations.

Most of the Taliban leaders are still on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list, which also include the five senior Taliban leaders who were freed from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in 2014 and are now part of the political office in Qatar. But they cannot travel out of Qatar because of the international travel ban. Stanekzai called for formally opening of their office in Qatar that was closed in 2013 days after its opening over criticism by then Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

Karzai was the first to raise objections at the Taliban office on the plea that the insurgents hoisted white flag on the office and used the plaque of the Islamic Emirate. Taliban used the flag and the Islamic Emirate during their 1996-2001 rule. The former president had also concerns the US may corner him by direct contact with the Taliban office.

“Venue for negotiations and a communication site in the shape of an office is necessary for peace. At present, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has no open and formal address as a venue for negotiations which is a preliminary requirement,” the Taliban chief negotiators informed officials from 11 countries including Kabul’s ambassador to Russia Abdul Qayyum Kochai and members of the government-nominated members of the High Peace Council.

Stanekzai argued that regular peace meetings could only be held in a state of availability of an office, adding the office is also required to issue peace related press releases, respond to questions of people as a responsible entity and remove national and international concerns.

Sources earlier told Daily Times that Taliban have also raised the issue of the office with the top American peace envoy Zalmay Khlilzad, who met the Taliban political envoys in Qatar in the first week of October to explore ways for political solution to the conflict.

Khalilzad has embarked on four nation visit as part of his initiative which will take him to Afghanistan, Pakistan, UAE and Qatar. He is most likely to hold another meeting with the Taliban political representatives, who are now joined by five senior leaders in a major step to move towards formal negotiations. The Taliban leader also called for the release of their detainees as the arrest and detention of the Taliban are “actions that are against peace”.

“America and its protectorate regime have detained tens of thousands of Afghans and Mujahidin in their secret and open prisons and are ill treating them against all the laws,” he said and called for the release of all the Taliban prisoners. The Taliban leaders; however, did not refer to the Afghan security men and several foreigners, who are in the Taliban custody. He also called for an agreement on the establishment of an Afghan inclusive independent Islamic System that is acceptable to Afghans and reflects Islamic and Afghan values. The Taliban leader insisted on the appointment of guarantees for the peace process as without this, the provisions of the peace agreements could not be properly implemented.

“Therefore, the United Nations, major powers, members of the Islamic Conference and facilitating countries must guarantee implementations of the agreements,” he said.

The Taliban official also called for a new constitution as he claimed the current constitution of “Kabul Administration is not reliable, because it has been copied from the West and has been imposed on Afghanistan’s Muslim society under the shadow of occupation.”

Published in Daily Times, November  11^th 2018.