Talks Aim For Lasting Peace In Afghanistan

The Afghan government met with the Taliban earlier this week with the aim of promoting peace in Afghanistan. The meeting was described by officials as the “first ever official peace talks” between the Afghan government and the Taliban. The meeting, which was held at a Pakistani hilltop resort, was attended by officials from China and the United States.

The Pakistani government said an agreement was reached to continue the talks in an effort to promote peace and reconciliation. Another meeting between the two sides may be held once the holy month of Ramadan is over. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was encouraged by the United States to open venues for talks with the Taliban.

Josh Earnest, White House Press Secretary, said the meeting is an important step in the promotion of “credible peace” in the war-torn country. However, it remains to be seen if the discussions will result to lasting peace in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani - image credit: telegraph.co.uk

The Taliban insurgency has continued to ravage a good part of Afghanistan even as US and NATO troops have started to withdraw from the country. The national parliament was the target of an attack by the militants last month. The Afghan Foreign Ministry is hopeful that the discussions will provide “a starting point” for the peace process and bring to an end to the “shedding of more innocent Afghans’ blood” and bring lasting peace to Afghanistan.

The Afghan military was left to lead the fight against the militants with the end of the combat mission of the United States in the country. The role of remaining NATO troops in Afghanistan is limited to training and support.

Earnest said the US has continued to encourage the participation of Afghans in the peace process, which may result to a political reconciliation in the country as well as the de-escalation to the violence that ravaged the country for the past decade. However, analysts have indicated that the Taliban may want to postpone official peace talks as it aims to get a stronger position in the negotiations.

Earlier discussions between representatives of the two sides did not result to positive developments in the aim of promoting peace in Afghanistan.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday July 08 2015, 11:09 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0