WASHINGTON, Feb 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The Afghan government must be involved
in talks between the US and the Taliban if a push for a peace deal is to be
successful, a top general said Tuesday.
A months-long drive by the US to engage with the Taliban has ostensibly
been aimed at convincing them to talk to Kabul, but the Taliban see President
Ashraf Ghani and his government as US-backed puppets.
“Ultimately, we need to get to a Taliban-Afghanistan discussion,” General
Joseph Votel, the head of US Central Command, told US lawmakers.
“Only they will be able to resolve the key issues involved in the
dispute.”
The talks, led by US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, come as President
Donald Trump seeks to pull US troops from Afghanistan.
“I would characterize where we are in the process as very, very early in
the process,” Votel said.
“Ambassador Khalilzad is attempting to create a framework by which we can
move forward with discussions. That would be certainly involving the
government of Afghanistan.”
Ghani said Tuesday on Twitter that he had spoken to US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo, who “underscored the central importance of ensuring the
centrality of the Afghan government in the peace process.”
The Taliban meanwhile are meeting with envoys, many with competing
interests in Afghanistan.
On Tuesday in Moscow, they met Afghan politicians from outside the
government and demanded a new constitution for Afghanistan while promising an
“inclusive Islamic system.”
While no representatives from the Kabul government were invited, some of
Ghani’s chief rivals — including former president Hamid Karzai — were
there.