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In Unusual Move, U.S. Summons Visiting Afghan NSA Mohib
He said that Khalilzad is keeping the “duly elected” Afghan government in dark and that in the latest round of talks in Doha, they were humiliated and made to wait in a hotel lobby.
“We don’t know what’s going on. We don’t have the kind of transparency that we should have,” Mohib told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
He said the Afghan government was getting the information in bits and pieces.
“The last people to find out (about the peace talks) are us,” Mohib added.
Palladino also said that the U.S. was displeased with Mohib’s comments.
Also expressing his displeasure was U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, who reportedly refused to meet Mohib.
Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., who is now at the Hudson Institute think-tank, criticized the State Department for such a treatment to Mohib.
“Such arrogance! Not expected of U.S. diplomats. More suited to the erstwhile Soviet Union or China,” Haqqani tweeted. “Support for Afghan peace could have been asserted without such language.”
Mohib said while the democratically elected Afghan government has been kept out of the peace talks, Islamabad was well aware of the developments happening at the talks in Doha.
“The patron (Pakistan foreign minister) tweets and says there was progress in Doha. Were they there? What is the relationship of the Taliban with Pakistan? I have to say it, spell it out,” he said.
“What is the relationship (between the Taliban and Pakistan)? Has anybody asked and what does it mean? What will be the end of that relationship? Will peace in Afghanistan mean Pakistan no longer using proxies for their political objectives and terrorists. Will the UN raise that question of what the policy or non-state actors?” asked Mohib.
“There will be no peace unless Pakistan stops supporting “non-state actors”, Mohib said.
“Imagine these discussions were successful. What would be Pakistan’s objective? What would it be for the Pakistani military? What would be the incentives for them? The incentive for them is they’ve just defeated the United States [and] all of its coalition partners,” he said.
“It (Pakistan) has the incentive to continue to sponsor and support its policy of Islamic extremist. That is the best weapon they have, and they will continue to use it at the cost of all Muslims,” Mohib said. “If we don’t hold Pakistan responsible for the use of their non-state actors and terrorists here, you will not be able to hold them back anywhere else.”
It comes as the fifth round of U.S.-Taliban talks which lasted 16 days, ended on Monday in Doha, Qatar. The sides reported progress, but no final deal on withdrawal of U.S.-led international forces and arrangements that the Taliban ensures militants would not use Afghanistan to stage attacks against the U.S. and its allies.