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Taliban appoint co-founder as top negotiator for talks with US
KABUL, Jan 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The Taliban have appointed a co-founder of
the movement as the new head of their political office in Doha, where talks
have been held since Monday with US officials seeking to end 17 years of
conflict in Afghanistan.
“The esteemed Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been appointed … head of
the political bureau,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a
statement released late Thursday.
“This step has been taken to strengthen and properly manage the ongoing
negotiations process with the United States,” he added.
The announcement comes as the insurgents said Thursday they had held four
straight days of talks with US officials in Doha. It was not immediately
clear if the negotiations were ongoing Friday.
The duration of the talks, described as “unprecedented” by analysts, has
raised hopes of an imminent agreement that could pave the way to peace talks.
But Washington, which confirmed on Tuesday that talks were being held in
Qatar between its envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and representatives
of the Taliban, has made no comment since.
Afghan officials, who have complained previously about being cut out of
the talks, also warned that any agreement would need their endorsement.
Baradar, formerly a number two of the Islamist group, helped Mullah Omar,
who died in 2013, to found the Taliban movement.
Arrested in Pakistan in 2010 in an operation then considered to have dealt
a fatal blow to the movement, he was released last October after a first
meeting in Doha — never confirmed by the United States — between the
Taliban and Khalilzad.
In addition to the appointment of Mullah Baradar, “many changes have also
occurred in the military and civilian departments”, the Taliban in their
statement.
BSS/AFP/MR/1244 hrs