& # 039; Taliban Five & # 039; Join the Political Office of the Insurgency in Qatar
& # 039; Taliban Five & # 039; Join the Political Office of the Insurgency in Qatar
Senior members of the Taliban who once held Guantanamo Bay joined the group's political office in Qatar, a possible step forward in the nascent peace talks in progress between Washington and the main insurgency in Afghanistan.
Their participation, confirmed by sources within the Taliban, follows two rounds of discussions between the Taliban and US officials in the Gulf nation in July and earlier this month, the last with Zalmay Khalilzad, a powerful new US envoy. . UU With the mandate to forge a peace process
The entry of the "Five Taliban" in the process, which the group has sought for a long time but has opposed the US. UU., It seems to be a significant concession of the White House.
A State Department official said on Tuesday that "it is up to the Taliban to elect their representatives" in the peace talks, but warned that the United States will not allow anyone to use its position as a negotiator to feed the insurgency in Afghanistan.
"However, we hope that these leaders work for a peaceful solution to end the war," said the official. "Indications that the members of the [Taliban Political Commission] The use of their location status to promote violence in Afghanistan will have consequences for TPC members. Because the TPC was established with the express purpose of participating in peaceful negotiations leading to a political agreement, we hope that any revision of the TPC membership will be consistent with that objective. "
The men have been kept under surveillance in a complex in the capital of Qatar, Doha, at the behest of the US. UU Since his release from Guantánamo in 2014. Diplomats said that Qatar would not have lifted the restrictions and allowed them to join the Taliban. Political office without the knowledge, if not the consent, of Washington.
Four of the men are high-ranking members of the Taliban and appear to surpass the current head of the office, Abbas Stanekzai. Among them is former Taliban army chief Mohammad Fazl, who analysts say could help bring the group's dominant military wing to the peace process.
The 'Five Taliban': Mohammad Nabi, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Norullah Noori, Mohammad Fazl and Khairullah Khairkhwa.
Photo:
Polaris / Newscom
"By having more prominent people in the political office, we are in a better position in terms of internal negotiation and debate," said a Taliban official in Doha.
The Taliban Five were released from Guantanamo by the Obama administration in exchange for a US soldier detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Bowe Bergdahl, and sent to Qatar. However, until now they were not allowed to hold political meetings or travel.
The changes in the political office, known as the Taliban political commission, were the idea of the Taliban leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, according to a Western official who oversees the Islamist movement. That could be an indication that the leadership is committed to the peace process, a question still open as the insurgency continues to be a formidable force on the battlefield and is present or in control of almost half of Afghanistan's territory. .
Separately, the former deputy leader of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, was released from Pakistani custody last week in another apparent concession to the group.
The release of Mr. Baradar, along with the entry of the Taliban Five into the Doha office, "indicates that the Taliban are shaping their political structure before future talks and possible future negotiations," said Nadir Naim, vice president of the Higher Council of La Paz, the official Afghan government agency appointed to handle talks with the Taliban. "This is a positive movement, a sign that all parties are taking a possible peace agreement seriously",
The Taliban have not yet agreed to talk to the Afghan government or other Afghan representatives, insisting that they will only talk to the United States, which they call the "occupation force."
A senior Afghan government official said the Taliban consulted the government in advance about the inclusion of former Guantánamo detainees in the commission, a claim denied by a Taliban official in Doha.
The government official added that Kabul wanted to see Taliban representatives with a mandate to negotiate with the government. "Our main objective is peace in Afghanistan, not the composition of the negotiating team," he said.
The other Guantanamo detainees who joined the Doha office include Khairullah Khairkhwa, a former Taliban Interior Minister; Noorullah Noori, former governor of the northern provinces of Afghanistan in the Taliban regime; and Abdul Haq Wasiq, former deputy head of the Taliban intelligence service.
The office held an induction ceremony for the five men at the group's compound in Doha, said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. "The reactivation of these Taliban will have a great impact," Mujahid said.
Qatar for years urged the United States to incorporate them into the political office, either officially or as observers, arguing that the presence of the "Five Taliban" in the de facto commission would help peace efforts.
I know. In particular, the Trump administration rejected the petition, apparently concerned about the political consequences of rekindling attention to what was a controversial exchange for the Sergeant. Bergdahl.
A Taliban political office was opened for the first time in the Gulf state of Qatar in 2013 at the behest of the Obama administration and the United Nations. But it closed shortly after the Taliban raised their flag over the complex that houses the office, attracting complaints from the Afghan government. Since then it has continued to function, but unofficially.
The Taliban had been calling for confidence-building measures on the US side, according to group sources.
The release of Mr. Baradar, the former deputy leader in Pakistani custody since 2010, came after the visit of Mr. Khalilzad, the United States envoy, to Islamabad this month and a follow-up trip to Pakistan by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Foreign of Qatar. The United States has not said whether it requested the release of Mr. Baradar.
Pakistan has long called for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. Washington accuses Islamabad of harboring the Taliban, a charge that Pakistan denies.
The Afghan government has publicly stated that it wanted Mr. Baradar to be handed over to the Afghan authorities. Instead, he was simply released inside Pakistan.
-Ehsanullah Amiri and Dion Nissenbaum contributed to this article.
Write to Saeed Shah in saeed.shah@wsj.com and Craig Nelson in craig.nelson@wsj.com
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