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Imran Khan says Taliban won’t talk peace unless Ghani goes
Taliban leaders have said they will not negotiate with the Afghan government as long as Ashraf Ghani remains president, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday (August 11), Reuters reported.
With peace talks stalled, violence in Afghanistan has escalated spiked sharply as the insurgent group makes rapid territorial gains. A U.S. defence official said on Wednesday that Taliban fighters could take over Kabul in 90 days.
Khan said a political settlement was looking difficult under current conditions.
“I tried to persuade the Taliban… three to four months back when the Taliban senior leadership came here,” Khan told foreign journalists at his home in Islamabad.
“The condition is that as long as Ashraf Ghani is there, we (Taliban) are not going to talk to the Afghan government,” Khan said, quoting the Taliban leaders as telling him.
According to Reuters peace talks between the Taliban, who view Ghani and his government as puppets of the United States, and a team of Kabul-nominated Afghan negotiators started last September but have made no substantive progress.
Representatives of a number of countries, including the United States, are currently in the Qatari capital of Doha talking to both sides in a last-ditch push for a ceasefire before Aug 31 – the day all foreign forces officially exit Afghanistan.
The Pakistani prime minister said he felt the Afghan government was now trying to convince the United States to come back and intervene again, Reuters reported.
“They’ve been here for 20 years… What will they do now that they did not do for 20 years?” he said.
U.S. forces have continued to use airstrikes to support Afghan forces against Taliban advances, but it remains unclear if such support will continue after Aug 31.
Khan said Pakistan had “made it very clear” that it does not want any American military bases in Pakistan after U.S. forces exit Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met on Tuesday with Qatar’s ambassador to Kabul, Mirdif Al-Qashouti, to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and expanding Afghanistan’s engagement with the international community.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the meeting focused on Qatar’s efforts to facilitate the Islamic Emirate’s engagement with the international community.
Muttaqi welcomed the growing engagement between Afghanistan and the international community and praised Qatar’s role in supporting these efforts.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s ambassador reaffirmed Doha’s commitment to continuing its efforts and described the progress made so far as encouraging.
Alireza Bikdeli, Iran’s ambassador to Kabul, met on Tuesday with officials of the Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines to discuss expanding economic relations, joint investment, and strengthening cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors.
During the meeting, Khan Mohammad Khan, deputy for industry at the Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines, highlighted the existing opportunities in Afghanistan’s industrial and mining sectors and called on Iranian investors to make practical investments in these areas.
He said that with suitable opportunities available for industrial growth and the processing of raw minerals in Afghanistan, greater prospects exist for economic cooperation and joint investment with regional countries, particularly Iran.
Meanwhile, Bikdeli said that Iranian investors are showing growing interest in operating in various economic and production sectors in Afghanistan. He also emphasized Iran’s willingness to expand economic relations and bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
At the end of the meeting, he invited officials of the Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines to participate in a mining exhibition scheduled to be held in Iran.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Information and Culture says BBC radio broadcasts across the country have been suspended due to what it described as “repeated violations.”
Safiullah Raed, head of media monitoring at the ministry, confirmed the suspension, without providing further details.
The BBC has also confirmed that its radio broadcasts have been suspended across Afghanistan. A spokesperson for the broadcaster said it was in contact with officials of the Islamic Emirate to resolve the issue.
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