No resumption of parleys with US: Taliban

KABUL movement on Sunday vehemently denied a media report that they had resumed peace talks with the United States in Qatar.

A day earlier, a British television channel, quoting several anonymous Taliban officials, as saying that they had resumed peace negotiations with the US.

According to the report, Tayyeb Agha and Shabudeen Delawar, former Taliban ambassador to Saudi Arabia, led the parleys with American officials in Qatar — where the insurgents plan to establish a political bureau.

But Taliban leadership strongly refuted the report as a rumour, saying they were unaware of fresh talks with US officials. Rebel spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid called the report untrue and baseless.

In a statement sent to Pajhwok Afghan News, Mujahid said there had been no contact with the US since peace negotiations were suspended.

“We won’t resume peace parleys until the US meets all the conditions that we have previously agreed toward trust building,” Mujahid added.     

Although the Taliban did not divulge further details of the trust building initiative, according to some sources, they want the US to release five key militant members currently from the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

The Taliban requested all media outlets not to publish propaganda that conflicts with journalistic ethics. 

On Saturday, Channel 4 said a five-member Taliban delegation, lead by Agha, had arrived in Qatar three weeks ago to re-commence talks with US officials.

The Taliban refused to continue dialogue with the US as a protest over several debacles in Afghanistan and the killing of 17 civilians in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province by an American soldier in early March.

mrh/vp/mud

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