KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday linked the release of Taliban prisoners with the group first breaking ties with neighbouring Pakistan.
Addressing a public gathering in the eastern Nangarhar province, Ghani said the Afghan Taliban could not justify their insurgency after inking a peace deal with the US.
“You [Taliban leaders] have made peace with the foreigners so what does your jihad mean now … killing of fellow Afghans is a crime,” said Ghani, who has expressed reservations over the peace agreement.
“If the Taliban have set release of their prisoners as a condition for intra-Afghan talks, we also have conditions; they should tell me when are they going to leave [break ties with] Pakistan.”
The landmark deal signed in Doha, Qatar on Feb 29 lays out a timetable for a full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan within 14 months.
The agreement is expected to lead to dialogue between the Taliban and the Kabul government, seeking an end to the armed conflict that began in 2001.
The Taliban agreed to halt attacks in the war-torn country in return for a prisoner swap and the US lifting sanctions against them.
Ghani has objected to these arrangements that would see the Afghan government releasing 5,000 Taliban prisoners as a condition for direct talks between the two sides.
The Taliban, meanwhile, announced it was resuming attacks on Afghan forces after implementing a 7-day “Reduction in Violence” pact last week.
Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told Anadolu Agency that the proposed intra-Afghan talks would only begin once their prisoners were freed.
Islamabad, which played a key role in brokering the deal, has urged Kabul and the Afghan Taliban to show flexibility and move forward with the peace deal.
‘ASK US FOR EXPLANATION ON PRISONERS’:
In a statement, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the Afghan president should “ask America for an explanation” of the clause of the deal on the exchange of prisoners.
He said the Afghan leadership had to take the responsibility to create a “favourable environment” to take intra-Afghan talks forward.
“It is the responsibility of the Afghan leadership to create a favourable environment to take the talks forward,” adding: “Pakistan can create a favourable environment, it cannot take [Afghanistan’s] decisions [for her],” he said.
Qureshi added that as far as he was aware, US Special Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad “had been apprising the Afghan leadership regarding negotiations”.
“Exchange of prisoners has happened in the past. When we move from war towards peace, it needs to be done to show a positive intention,” the foreign minister said, adding that the exchange of prisoners was a two-way process.
Qureshi warned things could not move forward if “stubbornness” was exhibited. “This is a logical step that should be taken,” he added.
“Attitudes will have to be corrected along with deals … those who wanted to create obstacles were present before as well; it is a testament to the excellence of the [Afghan] political leadership that they make them unsuccessful.”
Qureshi termed the Doha peace deal an “important development” and urged all stakeholders to not “waste this opportunity”.
“What happened in Doha was the first step, the next step is intra-Afghan talks … President Ghani should move forward keeping his country’s interests foremost and the Taliban should also display generosity.”
The foreign minister said the war was not an option as it was not an “easy process”.
Later in the day, the Afghan Foreign Ministry submitted a formal protest to Pakistan, saying it “strongly condemned” Qureshi’s remarks.
“The Government of Afghanistan believes that relying on policies of good-neighborliness, Pakistan needs to take practical steps towards enhancing bilateral ties in various areas and refrain from making such irresponsible statements regarding the internal affairs of Afghanistan,” it said.
TRUMP CALLS MULLAH BARADAR:
Meanwhile, the Taliban late Tuesday extended a conditional offer to meet the Afghan officials shortly before their chief negotiator, Mullah Baradar Akhund, held a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
In a tweet, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid added that the fighter-turned-negotiator called Trump but did not provide any further details. The development comes a few days after the two sides signed a troop withdrawal agreement in Doha.
“The President of the United States Trump @realDonaldTrump held a phone conversation with the Political Deputy of the Islamic Emirate, the respected Mullah Baradar Akhund,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter.
“Details later,” he noted, adding in an emailed statement later that the call lasted more than 30 minutes.
Confirming the telephonic conversation, Trump said he had held a “very good talk” with the Taliban.
“Actually (I) had a very good talk with the leader of the Taliban,” Trump told reporters at the White House but did not refer by name to Baradar.
Separately, the Taliban’s Doha office spokesperson, Suhail Shaheen, had also tweeted about the phone call.
According to Shaheen, the Taliban’s Doha office spokesperson, Baradar told Trump that for a positive future relationship, the US should not let anyone else keep it involved in the years-long Afghan war. “An arbitrary government is the undisputed right of Afghans,” he said.
Shaheen further claimed that Trump said it was “glad to talk to you” and that the US troops’ withdrawal “is for everyone’s benefit”.