Afghan-Taliban Peace Talks to be held less than a month

It is scheduled that official negotiation between Afghanistan and Taliban to be held less than a month, Pakistani media outlets said.

Pakistani media outlets as military officials quoted say that the negotiations will be held in the second week of the year 2016 January and Hanif Atmar, National Security Adviser of President Ghani will be the representative of Afghanistan in a significant effort to open formal peace negotiations.

The media outlets of Pakistan noted that the negotiations will be held between Hanif Atmar, Afghanistan national security adviser, Pakistan Prime Minister, Sartaj Aziz and Taliban with monitoring of US and China’s special representatives.

Meanwhile, President adviser called on Pakistan to be honest on its commitments.

“Our demand from Pakistan is to be honest on their commitments to our country,” said Qutbuddin Helal, President’s adviser.

Ariananews tried to have Presidential Palace and National Security Council’s comments regarding the issue but failed to succeed.

“I do not believe on Pakistan’s commitments and still there is no signs of honesty about this country,” said Jawid Kohestani, military analyst.

Afghan and Taliban representatives met each other after landmark through-the-night talks aimed at ending the militants’ 13-year insurgency in the town of Murree, a hill station north of Islamabad.

Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif hailed the meeting as a breakthrough, though the Taliban showed no sign of easing up on their bloody offensive, launching suicide attacks in Kabul as talks were about to get under way.

The Islamabad meeting, brokered by Pakistani officials after months of intense effort by President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan to get them more centrally involved in the peace process, was the most promising contact between the two warring sides in years.
A peace process that would lead to the Taliban ending their insurgency has long been seen as a crucial part of the American strategy to stabilize Afghanistan after a costly 14-year war.

But previous promising moments in that effort, including the formal opening of a Taliban political office in Qatar in 2013, either fizzled or backfired.

In their first meet-up in the popular tourist resort of Murree on July 7, Afghan government officials had demanded that the Taliban announce a ceasefire.

The insurgents agreed to cease fire if Pakistan and China guaranteed a ‘United National Government’ would be formed in Afghanistan.

It is believed that both Islamabad and Beijing are willing to go the extra mile if all sides signal their inclination for such a role.

Since the first round of talks, Afghan government officials and Taliban cadres were said to have been in contact to work out some CBMs for the next round in order to make the atmosphere conducive for more meaningful talks.

The Murree Peace Process is the first serious effort in recent years to cut a peace deal between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents. All sides have been able to sit on the negotiating table after Pakistan successfully persuaded the Taliban to join peace talks.