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aliban say they have no plans to seize whole of Afghanistan by force
Insurgents attend landmark Moscow peace talks, but Afghan president is excluded
Emma Graham-Harrison and Andrew Roth in Moscow
Wed 6 Feb 2019 12.55 GMTLast modified on Wed 6 Feb 2019 13.28 GMT
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Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai speaks at the Moscow conference. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
A senior Taliban official has said the insurgent group has no plans to seize the whole of Afghanistan by military force, speaking at peace talks in Moscow that have brought together many of the country’s powerbrokers.
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, who has led the group’s negotiating team, told the BBC that a push for total military domination “will not bring peace to Afghanistan”.
He spoke as Donald Trump signalled greater determination to end the US military presence there after more than 17 years, which has made Afghanistan America’s longest war. “Great nations do not fight endless wars,” he said in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.
The Moscow meeting comes after US and Taliban negotiators spent six days last month hammering out a framework draft of a peace deal in Qatar.
The Taliban refuse to meet the Afghan government, which they denounce as a puppet government, and the latest rounds of talks have left the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, uncomfortably isolated.
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Delegates at the talks in Moscow. Photograph: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images
The delegation around the table in Moscow included some of Afghanistan’s most wealthy and influential men, warlords and others who wielded power in civilian governments. Several had formed part of Ghani’s own government until recently.
There were only two women, who called for women’s rights to be at the heart of any settlement and protected by the international community.
Leading the delegation was the former president Hamid Karzai, who is still a formidable powerbroker. He shrugged off charges of hypocrisy to attend; as president himself, he had denounced any efforts to talk to the Taliban that excluded his own government.
Other attendees included Hanif Atmar, until recently Ghani’s national security adviser, and Atta Muhammad Noor, one of the most influential men in northern Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai (left) with Stanikzai. Photograph: TASS/Barcroft Images
Ghani denounced his exclusion in an angry interview on Afghanistan’s Tolo TV channel. “At the end of any peace deal, the decision-maker will be the government of Afghanistan,” Ghani said. “Rest assured that no one can push us aside.”
After Trump’s speech, he also called the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, apparently trying to wrest back control of the political narrative. He said on Twitter that Pompeo underscored “the centrality of the Afghan government in the peace process”, and reiterated US support for presidential elections set for July.
There is speculation that any peace deal could include a delay in the elections, or some kind of interim government.
The Moscow talks are officially being organised by members of the Afghan diaspora. But there is little question of official support, not least because the Taliban delegation given visas to travel are all still on a terrorism watchlist. The meeting was held at a Kremlin-owned hotel.
As 2019 begins…
… we’re asking readers to make a new year contribution in support of The Guardian’s independent journalism. More people are reading and supporting our independent, investigative reporting than ever before. And unlike many news organisations, we have chosen an approach that allows us to keep our journalism accessible to all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford. But this is only possible thanks to voluntary support from our readers – something we have to maintain and build on for every year to come.
Readers’ support powers The Guardian, giving our reporting impact and safeguarding our essential editorial independence. This means the responsibility of protecting independent journalism is shared, enabling us all to feel empowered to bring about real change in the world. Your support gives Guardian journalists the time, space and freedom to report with tenacity and rigor, to shed light where others won’t. It emboldens us to challenge authority and question the status quo. And by keeping all of our journalism free and open to all, we can foster inclusivity, diversity, make space for debate, inspire conversation – so more people, across the world, have access to accurate information with integrity at its heart. Every contribution we receive from readers like you, big or small, enables us to keep working as we do.
The Guardian is editorially independent, meaning we set our own agenda. Our journalism is free from commercial bias and not influenced by billionaire owners, politicians or shareholders. No one edits our editor. No one steers our opinion. This is important as it enables us to give a voice to those less heard, challenge the powerful and hold them to account. It’s what makes us different to so many others in the media, at a time when factual, honest reporting is critical.
Please make a new year contribution today to help us deliver the independent journalism the world needs for 2019 and beyond. Support The Guardian from as little as £1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...y-have-no-plans-to-seize-afghanistan-by-force
Insurgents attend landmark Moscow peace talks, but Afghan president is excluded
Emma Graham-Harrison and Andrew Roth in Moscow
Wed 6 Feb 2019 12.55 GMTLast modified on Wed 6 Feb 2019 13.28 GMT
Shares
25
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai speaks at the Moscow conference. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
A senior Taliban official has said the insurgent group has no plans to seize the whole of Afghanistan by military force, speaking at peace talks in Moscow that have brought together many of the country’s powerbrokers.
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, who has led the group’s negotiating team, told the BBC that a push for total military domination “will not bring peace to Afghanistan”.
He spoke as Donald Trump signalled greater determination to end the US military presence there after more than 17 years, which has made Afghanistan America’s longest war. “Great nations do not fight endless wars,” he said in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.
The Moscow meeting comes after US and Taliban negotiators spent six days last month hammering out a framework draft of a peace deal in Qatar.
The Taliban refuse to meet the Afghan government, which they denounce as a puppet government, and the latest rounds of talks have left the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, uncomfortably isolated.
FacebookTwitterPinterest
Delegates at the talks in Moscow. Photograph: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images
The delegation around the table in Moscow included some of Afghanistan’s most wealthy and influential men, warlords and others who wielded power in civilian governments. Several had formed part of Ghani’s own government until recently.
There were only two women, who called for women’s rights to be at the heart of any settlement and protected by the international community.
Leading the delegation was the former president Hamid Karzai, who is still a formidable powerbroker. He shrugged off charges of hypocrisy to attend; as president himself, he had denounced any efforts to talk to the Taliban that excluded his own government.
Other attendees included Hanif Atmar, until recently Ghani’s national security adviser, and Atta Muhammad Noor, one of the most influential men in northern Afghanistan.
FacebookTwitterPinterest
Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai (left) with Stanikzai. Photograph: TASS/Barcroft Images
Ghani denounced his exclusion in an angry interview on Afghanistan’s Tolo TV channel. “At the end of any peace deal, the decision-maker will be the government of Afghanistan,” Ghani said. “Rest assured that no one can push us aside.”
After Trump’s speech, he also called the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, apparently trying to wrest back control of the political narrative. He said on Twitter that Pompeo underscored “the centrality of the Afghan government in the peace process”, and reiterated US support for presidential elections set for July.
There is speculation that any peace deal could include a delay in the elections, or some kind of interim government.
The Moscow talks are officially being organised by members of the Afghan diaspora. But there is little question of official support, not least because the Taliban delegation given visas to travel are all still on a terrorism watchlist. The meeting was held at a Kremlin-owned hotel.
As 2019 begins…
… we’re asking readers to make a new year contribution in support of The Guardian’s independent journalism. More people are reading and supporting our independent, investigative reporting than ever before. And unlike many news organisations, we have chosen an approach that allows us to keep our journalism accessible to all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford. But this is only possible thanks to voluntary support from our readers – something we have to maintain and build on for every year to come.
Readers’ support powers The Guardian, giving our reporting impact and safeguarding our essential editorial independence. This means the responsibility of protecting independent journalism is shared, enabling us all to feel empowered to bring about real change in the world. Your support gives Guardian journalists the time, space and freedom to report with tenacity and rigor, to shed light where others won’t. It emboldens us to challenge authority and question the status quo. And by keeping all of our journalism free and open to all, we can foster inclusivity, diversity, make space for debate, inspire conversation – so more people, across the world, have access to accurate information with integrity at its heart. Every contribution we receive from readers like you, big or small, enables us to keep working as we do.
The Guardian is editorially independent, meaning we set our own agenda. Our journalism is free from commercial bias and not influenced by billionaire owners, politicians or shareholders. No one edits our editor. No one steers our opinion. This is important as it enables us to give a voice to those less heard, challenge the powerful and hold them to account. It’s what makes us different to so many others in the media, at a time when factual, honest reporting is critical.
Please make a new year contribution today to help us deliver the independent journalism the world needs for 2019 and beyond. Support The Guardian from as little as £1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
Support The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...y-have-no-plans-to-seize-afghanistan-by-force
