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Taliban’s silence shows lack of faith in talks with US: analysts

Taliban’s silence shows lack of faith in talks with US: analysts

author avatar
2 Jan 2012 - 18:12
Taliban’s silence shows lack of faith in talks with US: analysts
author avatar
2 Jan 2012 - 18:12

KABUL are happy over the opening of their proposed liaison office in Qatar, yet they have no faith in the peace talks with the US, Kabul-based political analysts believe.  

Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, a former Taliban foreign minister, had said on September 13 that establishing a Taliban office in Doha, the capital of Qatar, was a significant step toward peace process in Afghanistan.

The Taliban office will be the first officially recognised political address of the movement after their regime was toppled in 2001.

Last month, President Hamid Karzai told Turkish journalists his government would support the US move toward the opening of Taliban’s political office in Qatar, saying Turkey or Saudi Arabia remained his government’s preferred places for such a liaison point.

According to Muhammad Hassan Haqyar, a political analyst, the conflict between the Taliban and the US was very deep and it would take time to have an atmosphere of confidence between the two sides.

He said the Taliban had so far shown no reaction to reports about their talks with the US, because they wanted to avoid annoying their supporters in case the talks failed. He said the reaction from the Taliban would come once the talks produced any breakthrough.

“If the Taliban break the silence and show willingness to the peace talks, it will have a deep impact on their operations,” believed another analyst, Fazal-ur-Rehman Orya.

He said the Taliban wanted to simultaneously continue with both militancy and diplomacy because their talks with the US would take time to succeed.

However, yet another political analyst, Waheed Mujdha, believed the Taliban feared Pakistan‘s reaction and opted to remained silent on the subject.

He said the conflict between the Taliban and the Pakistani military establishment had deepened in recent days and the insurgents were trying to reach a settlement with the US.

When the Taliban spokesmen were contacted in this regard, they avoided giving any response.

In an email on the subject, a Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote, “I have contacted my seniors, but I have not received any response in this regard and as soon as I get that, I will certainly share it with you.”

mas/ma

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