Abdullah chides Taliban over refusal to involve Afghan govt

Any peace deal has to respect rights of Afghans, he says

January 09, 2019 10:12 pm | Updated 10:12 pm IST - Kabul

Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said on Wednesday that the Taliban’s refusal to involve the government in peace talks means the end to a conflict that has lasted 17 years can only remain a dream.

Mr. Abdullah’s remarks came a day after the Taliban called off a fourth round of talks with U.S. officials in Qatar, which were due to start this week, over disagreements about the involvement of Afghan officials, a possible ceasefire and prisoner exchange.

“In any peace deal in which the rights of our citizens, that have been gained with a lot of sacrifices, are not respected, the deal is a dream and will never happen,” Mr. Abdullah told a gathering in Kabul, commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Constitution.

A Taliban leader said that the talks would have focussed on a U.S. withdrawal, prisoner exchange and the lifting of a ban on the movement of Taliban leaders.

Mr. Abdullah said the Taliban have not changed since their regime was toppled by U.S.-led forces in 2001.

“We haven’t seen any change in the Taliban so far and that country that supports them, has not unfortunately changed its policies toward us either,” said Mr. Abdullah, referring to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad headed on Tuesday on another trip to Afghanistan. The State Department did not say if he would again meet the Taliban but said he would talk to “Afghan government officials and other interested parties.”

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