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To reach a peace deal, Taliban say Ghani must go
The Taliban say they don’t want to monopolize power, but insist there will only be peace in Afghanistan once President Ashraf Ghani has been removed from power and a new government is in place.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is also a member of the group’s negotiating team, laid out the insurgents’ stance on what should come next in the country.
The Taliban have swiftly captured territory in recent weeks, seized strategic border crossings and are threatening a number of provincial capitals, as the last U.S. and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan.
This week, the top U.S. military officer, General Mark Milley, told a Pentagon press conference that the Taliban have “strategic momentum,” and he did not rule out a complete Taliban takeover. But he said it is not inevitable. “I don’t think the end game is yet written,” he said.
Shaheen told AP that the Taliban will lay down their weapons when a negotiated government acceptable to all sides in the conflict is installed in Kabul and Ghani’s government is gone.
“I want to make it clear that we do not believe in the monopoly of power because any governments who (sought) to monopolize power in Afghanistan in the past, were not successful governments,” said Shaheen, apparently including the Taliban’s own five-year rule in that assessment.
“So we do not want to repeat that same formula,” he said.
But he was also uncompromising on the continued rule of Ghani, calling him a war monger and accusing him of using his Tuesday speech on the Islamic Holy day of Eid-al-Adha to promise an offensive against the Taliban, AP reported.
Shaheen dismissed Ghani’s right to govern, resurrecting allegations of widespread fraud that surrounded Ghani’s 2019 election win. After that vote, both Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah declared themselves president. After a compromise deal, Abdullah is now No. 2 in the government and heads the reconciliation council, AP reported.
Shaheen meanwhile called last week’s talks in Doha a good beginning. But he said the government’s repeated demands for a ceasefire while Ghani stayed in power were tantamount to demanding a Taliban surrender.
“They don’t want reconciliation, but they want surrendering,” he said.
Before any ceasefire, there must be an agreement on a new government “acceptable to us and to other Afghans,” he said. Then “there will be no war.”
Shaheen said under this new government, women will be allowed to work, go to school, and participate in politics, but will have to wear the hijab, or headscarf. He said women won’t be required to have a male relative with them to leave their home, and that Taliban commanders in newly occupied districts have orders that universities, schools and markets operate as before, including with the participation of women and girls, AP reported.
Shaheen said there are no plans to make a military push on Kabul and that the Taliban have so far “restrained” themselves from taking provincial capitals. But he warned they could, given the weapons and equipment they have acquired in newly captured districts, AP reported. He contended that the majority of the Taliban’s battlefield successes came through negotiations, not fighting.
“Those districts which have fallen to us and the military forces who have joined us … were through mediation of the people, through talks,” he said. “They (did not fall) through fighting … it would have been very hard for us to take 194 districts in just eight weeks.”
AP reported that the Taliban control about half of Afghanistan’s 419 district centers, and while they have yet to capture any of the 34 provincial capitals
On the issue of a possible civil war, Shaheen told AP: “You know, no one no one wants a civil war, including me.”
Shaheen also repeated Taliban promises aimed at reassuring Afghans who fear the group and said they had nothing to fear from the Taliban and denied threatening them.
But, he added, if some want to take asylum in the West because Afghanistan’s economy is so poor, “that is up to them.”
He also denied that the Taliban have threatened journalists and Afghanistan’s civil society, which has been targeted by dozens of killings over the past year, AP reported.
While Daesh has taken responsibility for some attacks, the Afghan government has blamed the Taliban for most of the killings while the Taliban in turn accuse the Afghan government of carrying out the killings to defame them.
Shaheen said journalists, including those working for Western media outlets, have nothing to fear from a government that includes the Taliban.
“We have not issued letters to journalists (threatening them), especially to those who are working for foreign media outlets. They can continue their work even in the future,” he said.
Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, has called on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to base its assessments on accurate information and objective facts in response to the mission’s latest report.
Fitrat said the report described the detention of some individuals by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and other official institutions of the Islamic Emirate as “arbitrary.” However, he claimed that these detentions were carried out in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to prevent acts deemed contrary to Sharia and to reform individuals.
The deputy spokesperson added that governments in various countries also carry out such detentions.
He also questioned why UNAMA’s report had not mentioned the efforts and achievements of various Islamic Emirate institutions in providing assistance to the public, accommodating returning migrants, preventing security threats, making political progress, and implementing major economic projects with humanitarian dimensions.
Criticizing UNAMA’s approach, Fitrat said that instead of working to bring Afghanistan and the international community closer together and resolve misunderstandings, the mission was engaged in what he described as “propaganda against the system” and seeking to portray
Afghanistan negatively. He said this approach was inconsistent with the principle of neutrality that the mission is expected to uphold.
The European Union’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Thomas Frellesen, has described restrictions on women and girls as a major obstacle to normalising relations between the EU and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), following a three-day visit to Kabul.
According to an EU statement issued Thursday, Frellesen visited Kabul from October 12 to 14, holding discussions with senior IEA officials, diplomats, regional partners, representatives of the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and members of Afghan civil society.
During the visit, he expressed serious concern over restrictions on women and girls, saying they remained a significant barrier to closer relations between the EU and the IEA. In a meeting with Afghan women’s civil society representatives, he also heard about the impact of the restrictions and women’s resilience in the face of these challenges.
On security, Frellesen acknowledged that conditions in Afghanistan had generally improved but warned about the continued presence and cross-border activities of terrorist groups, including Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). He stressed that the IEA must ensure Afghan territory is not used to threaten other countries.
The EU envoy also recognised the IEA’s counter-narcotics efforts but raised concern over a renewed increase in poppy cultivation. He called for sustainable alternative livelihoods for farmers affected by the ban on opium cultivation, noting that the EU was supporting such initiatives.
Frellesen urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resume dialogue to address their security concerns, emphasising the need to de-escalate tensions and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. The EU also welcomed regional and international mediation efforts, the OIC’s role in promoting stability, and initiatives aimed at strengthening regional connectivity.
Reaffirming the EU’s support for the UN-led Doha Process, Frellesen said coordinated international engagement and constructive participation by the IEA were essential to Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community. He also stressed the importance of inclusive governance and compliance with international obligations.
The discussions further covered continued EU assistance in healthcare, education, resilience and livelihoods, including support for Afghans returning from Iran and Pakistan. Frellesen emphasised that returns should be safe, dignified and orderly, and called for greater attention to climate-related projects.
He also highlighted the importance of a resilient private sector and the preservation of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage.
The EU said its engagement with Afghanistan would remain principled and pragmatic, with a focus on addressing the needs of the Afghan people.
Qatar has called for stronger international solidarity, increased humanitarian and development assistance, and continued constructive dialogue on Afghanistan amid the return of large numbers of Afghans from neighboring countries.
The call was made by Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva during a high-level dialogue on Afghan refugees and returnees on October 14, held on the sidelines of the 77th session of the Executive Committee of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
During the meeting, Qatar’s mission highlighted the humanitarian, economic and development challenges facing Afghanistan and stressed the need for greater international coordination to address the needs of returning Afghans.
Qatar also reaffirmed its commitment to the Afghan Refugee Solutions Strategy and its Support Platform, noting that it chairs the platform’s first Core Group. The mission emphasized the importance of increasing international support for countries and communities that have hosted Afghan refugees for decades.
It further stressed that Afghan returnees need access to essential services, shelter, education and livelihood opportunities to support their sustainable reintegration.
The Qatari mission said the country continues to support various sectors in Afghanistan through its humanitarian and development institutions, particularly education, healthcare and livelihoods.
Qatar also highlighted its efforts to facilitate international dialogue on Afghanistan, including by hosting meetings of special envoys and working groups under UN auspices, aimed at improving coordination, supporting stability and facilitating Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community.
The mission called for fairer burden-sharing, better coordination of humanitarian and development assistance, and stronger regional and international cooperation to find lasting solutions for Afghan refugees and internally displaced people.
It reaffirmed Qatar’s readiness to continue working with UNHCR and other partners to help ensure that Afghans can live with dignity, peace and stability.
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