Afghan men build a house on a hilltop overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan January 1, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS
“I urge the Taliban and the Kabul administration not to miss the chance of [initiating] peace negotiations, as I foresee heavy fighting this year,” said Mullah Agha Jan Mutasim, who has emerged in recent years as a key interlocutor between the two warring sides.
“The chances of holding a dialogue decrease with the rise in violence; therefore, it is necessary for all sides to the conflict to act now and take advantage of the lull in the fighting during winter,” Mutasim told The Express Tribune in an interview.
Afghan High Peace Council chief dead at 84The Express Tribune has learnt that the Taliban chief, Mullah Hibtuallah Akhund, has changed most of the group’s shadow governors to further “strengthen his control”.
A Taliban official, who is familiar with the high-level changes, confided to The Express Tribune that one of the objectives is to give ‘tough time’ to government forces during the upcoming fighting season.
Some powerful governors such as Abdul Manan Akhund in Helmand, Mullah Abdul Salam in Kunduz and Mullah Mohibullah in Kabul have not been changed because their war strategy met with some success last year.
Mutasim said the start of peace talks depends mainly on the Afghan government, and the Taliban could come up with a positive response if officials adopt a serious approach to the peace process.
“The Afghan government should also involve influential personalities who have contacts with the Taliban rather than looking towards other countries,” the Taliban leader said.
“Afghan rulers should have a mechanism and political will, in addition to taking some confidence-building measures, to encourage the Taliban to come to the negotiating table,” he went on to say.
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When asked if he expects a change in the policy of the new US President Donald Trump, he said the possibility of the political process to succeed was strong if the new American administration shifted its focus from using force, as was pursued by Barack Obama and George W Bush to accommodating the peace process.
“I have some hope that improved relations between the US under Donald Trump and Russia can also have a positive impact on the peace efforts in Afghanistan,” Mutasim added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2017.
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