No early September peace talks planned with Afghans: top Taliban negotiator

PESHAWAR: A lead Taliban negotiator on Thursday said no peace talks were planned with Afghan officials for early September, hours after a senior government official said talks were to begin next month.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai’s statement to Reuters comes at a time when the two sides are under pressure from the United States and its allies to hold talks, a move that could pave way for the end of about two decades of war in Afghanistan.

A major stumbling block has been the issue of the release of Taliban prisoners.

Abdullah Abdullah, a prominent politician and the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation said Afghan officials were ready to hold talks with the Taliban from early September.

Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, echoed Abdullah’s confidence that talks could start next week, saying major hurdles including the release of prisoners from both sides were not far from resolution.

“It seems that most of the hurdles have been either removed or we are in the process of building consensus on a solution. I am cautiously optimistic that this will not be a further hurdle on the way,” Atmar said from Kabul in discussion hosted by Washington DC-based United States Institute of Peace, broadcast online.

The Taliban has been demanding 5,000 prisoners be released before it moves to talks, but the Afghan government has stalled the release with 320 to go, a handful of whom foreign powers including France and Australia object to releasing.

Atmar added that the government was working to reach a consensus with international players on the release of prisoners.

The Afghan government is also demanding a small number of Afghan security force members it says the Taliban are still holding be released.

Pakistan stresses need for early talks

The development comes on the heels of a telephonic conversation a day earlier between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chairman Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation Dr Abdullah Abdullah.

PM Imran had urged Afghan leaders to seize the "historic opportunity" for peace in Afghanistan and hoped for early commencement of Intra-Afghan talks.

“Afghan leaders must seize this historic opportunity to achieve an inclusive political settlement contributing to durable peace, security, and prosperity in Afghanistan,” he said.

He said that there is “no military” solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and a negotiated political settlement is the only way forward.

Pakistan looks forward to the commencement of Intra-Afghan Negotiations at the earliest, the premier added.

On Tuesday, in a meeting with a Taliban Political Commission (TPC) delegation, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Qureshi underscored the need for the US-Taliban agreement to be realised in its entirety “paving the way for the earliest possible commencement of Intra-Afghan Negotiations”.