Advocates of Takfiri forces become active to keep Taliban alive

The advocates of Taliban and other Takfiri forces have once again become active to keep extremism alive in the world, as Afghan government agreed that Taliban insurgents should open a political office for negotiations.

Representatives at preliminary talks aiming to end Afghanistan’s long war have agreed that Taliban insurgents should open a political office for negotiations, but disagreement over foreign troops is still hampering prospects for a ceasefire.

A statement issued on Monday outlined the agreements reached by at least 40 delegates to a “non-official meeting” bringing together Taliban representatives, Afghan government figures and UN representatives at a two-day meeting held in Qatar.

The dialogue was a step towards a peace process that has proved elusive during a war that has killed tens of thousands of Afghans since the Taliban were driven from power by a 2001 US-led military operation.

In a further blow for peace hopes, Taliban killed at least 18 police on Monday in attacks in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, a local official said.

Insurgents have also pressed an assault on Kunduz city, a provincial capital in the north.

In Qatar the delegates agreed that Taliban should re-open a political office in Doha that caused a furore in 2013 when it was briefly inaugurated as part of a previous, failed attempt to start negotiations.

At the televised inauguration ceremony, Taliban representatives raised the flag of their former regime, enraging then-president Hamid Karzai and dooming hoped-for talks.

Afghanistan’s new leader, Ashraf Ghani, has made negotiations a priority since taking office last year.

The delegates also called for removal of key Taliban leaders’ names from a UN terrorism blacklist so they could travel to negotiations, according to the statement by the Pugwash Council, a global organisation that promotes conflict resolution. It co-hosted the talks with Qatar’s government.

Pugwash said more than 40 representatives, including several Afghan women, had attended the Qatar meeting.

However, there was no progress on the main obstacle to a ceasefire — the continued presence of around 10,000 US military trainers and counter-terrorism forces in Afghanistan.