Taliban discuss truce and women’s rights in Doha

Dozens of Afghans resumed talks with the Taliban yesterday in Doha, with peace and women’s rights on the table.

The Taliban's former envoy to Saudi Arabia Shahabuddin Delawar, left, arrives with Taliban negotiator Abbas Stanikzai, right, at the talks in Doha. Picture: AFP

Dozens of powerful ­Afghans resumed talks with the Taliban yesterday in Doha, where a possible ceasefire is on the table along with key issues such as women’s rights.

Stakes are high for the talks which follow a week of US-­Taliban negotiations with both sides eyeing a resolution to the bloody 18-year conflict.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that the Afghan gathering “has been a long time coming” and praised the country’s “government, civil society, women, and Taliban” for coming together.

Washington wants to seal a political deal with the Taliban ahead of Afghan presidential polls in September to allow foreign forces to begin to withdraw.

About 70 delegates are attending the two-day gathering organised by Germany and Qatar. “History will remember those who were able to set their differences aside for the sake of the country” said German envoy Markus Potzel as he opened the gathering on Sunday.

Delegate Asila Wardak, a member of the High Peace Council established by former president Hamid Karzai to engage with Taliban elements, said “everybody is emphasising on a ceasefire” during Sunday’s session. The Taliban spoke about “women’s role, economic development, (and) the role of minorities” in a future settlement, she added.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Twitter that he looked “forward to a constructive dialogue”.

The intra-Afghan meetings follow six days of direct talks between the US and Taliban that have been put on hold for the two- day conference and are set to resume today. US lead negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad says the latest round of US-Taliban talks “have been the most productive of the rounds we’ve had with the Talibs”. The Taliban said they were “happy with progress”.

The US is not participating directly in the two-day Afghan summit, which is being attended by political heavyweights, government officials and at least six women. The Taliban, who have refused to negotiate with the government of President Ashraf Ghani, have stressed that those attending are only doing so in a “personal capacity”. Dr Ghani’s administration, which the Taliban consider a puppet regime, has also been excluded from the direct US-­Taliban talks.

Sunday and yesterday’s gathering is the third such meeting following landmark summits in Moscow in February and May.

An agreement with the Taliban is expected to have two main pillars — a US withdrawal from Afghanistan and a commitment by the militants not to offer sanctuary to jihadists. But the thorny issues of power-sharing with the Taliban, the role of Pakistan and India, and the fate of the Ghani administration remain unresolved.

AFP