U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad
The U.S. representative for Afghanistan reconciliation on Monday called on the Taliban to come up with an authorized team of negotiators for peace talks.
Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born U.S. diplomat, made the call to reporters during his trip to the capital Kabul as part of his tour following visits to Pakistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
After arriving on Sunday, Khalilzad met President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and discussed the prospects for an Afghan-led reconciliation process, said Ghani's office in a statement.
A day earlier, the Taliban, on the occasion of the 17th anniversary of the U.S. invasion in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., renewed their call for the “occupying forces” to leave the country.
According to Abdullah Abdullah, the Afghan government’s chief executive officer, this July U.S. and Taliban officials first met in Qatar to discuss laying the groundwork for peace talks.
The Taliban on Monday directed Afghans to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections and demanded a complete withdrawal of foreign forces as the only solution to end the 17-year-old war as they ramped up attacks in strategic provinces.The statement from the hardline Islamic militant group coincided with the visit of top U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been appointed to lead peace efforts with the Taliban.Khalilzad met President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul to strategise ways to hold Afghan-led peace talks with the Taliban, whose 1996-2001 rule was ended by U.S.-led troops."Peace is a holy process, and the U.S. government and people are united with the Afghan government and people in this process," Khalilzad was quoted by Ghani's office in a statement as saying.Khalilzad, an Afghan-born former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, joined the U.S. State Department team in September.He is scheduled to visit Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week as he seeks to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.But the Taliban, who are fighting to expel foreign forces, topple the government and restore their version of hardline Islamic law, have repeatedly rejected offers to hold peace talks or support the polls.Afghan forces, Taliban battle for control of highway in Ghazni provincePakistani religious leaders to work for Afghan peaceThe Oct. 20 vote, seen by international partners as a dry run for presidential elections next year, has been hampered by chaotic preparations, allegations of fraud and ever-present fears of militant violence.Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s main spokesman, said the United States was using the elections for the sole purpose of legitimising their presence and authority."People are given a deceptive feeling of having free right casting their votes for the malicious purpose of minimising their resentment against the foreign occupation," he said.With less than two weeks to go before the long-delayed elections, the Taliban and Islamic State have ramped up attacks across the country.The fighting has underlined the struggle security forces face as the insurgents have steadily extended their control over the countryside even though they have been unable to take and hold a major city."The real solution of the ongoing Afghan crisis lies in the complete withdrawal of all foreign occupying forces and the restoration of a pure Islamic sovereignty," said Mujahid.Western diplomats have said the fighting raises questions about the viability of the U.S. strategy to end the war, which for the past year has focused on forcing the militants, largely with more air strikes, to the negotiating table.Afghan teacher encourages children to never give upTaliban kill at least ten police in central Afghanistan, officials sayUS strategy in Afghanistan has failed: Former FM
Taliban urge Afghans to boycott polls, reject peace talks
At least 10 policemen were killed in clashes with Taliban fighters in the central Afghan province of Wardak, officials said on Sunday, amid fighting to wrest control of arterial highways a day after Taliban fighters blew up bridges.The Taliban set fire to a government building in Wardak's Sayeed Abad district and killed the district police chief along with nine other policemen on Saturday night, a senior police official said.Repeated assaults on strategically important provinces, such as Wardak and nearby Ghazni, have been a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile security remains in Afghanistan two weeks before nationwide parliamentary elections.Abdul Rahman Mangal, a spokesman for the Wardak governor's office, said the Taliban raided some civilian houses after killing 10 policemen, destroyed newly built checkpoints and cut power to some parts of the city.Government forces counter-attacked to stop the insurgents from approaching the city, Mangal said.Video: Taliban kill at least ten police in central AfghanistanA statement from the Taliban's main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the insurgents had taken the centre of Sayeed Abad and all surrounding security checkpoints, killing numerous members of the security forces and seizing weapons, ammunition and vehicles.Mohammad Arif Noori, a spokesman for Ghazni's governor, said one soldier was killed by Taliban fighters as they tried to gain control over parts of the province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by U.S.-backed Afghan forces.The Taliban attacked Ghazni, a strategically important centre straddling the main highway linking Kabul with Afghanistan's south, in August. It was the largest tactical operation launched by the Taliban since they overran the northern city of Kunduz in 2015.That confrontation killed 150 members of Afghanistan's security forces and 95 civilians, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters.Afghan forces, Taliban battle for control of highway in Ghazni provinceThree women, one child killed following air raid in Afghanistan
Taliban kill at least ten police in central Afghanistan, officials say
Heavily armed Taliban fighters destroyed bridges near the central city of Ghazni on Saturday, closing the main highway between the capital Kabul and southern Afghanistan, officials said.Sporadic clashes erupted between Afghan soldiers and Taliban insurgents who were trying to gain control over parts of Ghazni province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by U.S.-backed Afghan forces, officials added.Mohammad Arif Noori, the governor’s spokesman in Ghazni, said fighting was ongoing and the Afghan army had deployed helicopters to prevent the militants from entering the city centre."We are fully prepared to attack them. This time the province will not fall into the hands of the Taliban," Noori said.Three women, one child killed following air raid in AfghanistanFive militants were killed as they were planting bombs on three bridges on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, Noori added.Residents of Qarabagh district, 55 km (35 miles) south of Ghazni city, said the militants had set up checkpoints and did not allow vehicles to pass through several residential areas.The attack on Ghazni was a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile the security situation remains two weeks before the parliamentary elections.Pakistani religious leaders to work for Afghan peacePolling has already been called off in Ghazni province after the Taliban overran it in August and besieged the city for five days.That confrontation killed 150 Afghan security forces and 95 civilians dead, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters, said officials then.President Ashraf Ghani's Western-backed government pledged $20 million for relief and reconstruction of Ghazni after security forces defeated the Taliban fighters in that battle. Afghan government rejects proposals to privatise war
Afghan forces, Taliban battle for control of highway in Ghazni province