File photo: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass, Gen. John Nicholson and Brig. Gen. Conley as he arrives at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan
The United States is ready to join direct negotiations with the Taliban in an effort to end the 17 year-long war in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander, said on Monday, amid growing speculation about possible peace talks.
The comment follows increased diplomatic efforts to seek talks following unprecedented scenes of unarmed Taliban fighters mingling with Afghan security forces on the streets of Kabul and other cities during last month's surprise ceasefire.
Bahraini Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa on Monday held talks with Vice-Admiral Scott Stearney, commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, according to the Bahrain News Agency.Held behind closed doors in Bahraini capital Manama, talks reportedly focused on bilateral relations and military cooperation.The news agency did not provide any further details of the meeting.Since 1995, the U.S. Fifth Fleet has been stationed in Bahrain, from where it oversees U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.
US 5th Fleet commander meets with Bahrain army chief
Nicholson, who leads the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, said the United States recognized it had a key role to play.
"Our Secretary of State, Mr (Mike) Pompeo, has said that we, the United States, are ready to talk to the Taliban and discuss the role of international forces," he said.
"We hope that they realize this and that this will help to move the peace process forward."
Earlier, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump's administration had ordered diplomats to seek direct talks with the Taliban in a bid to jump-start negotiations.
Sohail Shahin, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, said he was still waiting for confirmation but welcomed signs of the new approach.
"This is what we wanted and were waiting for, to sit with the U.S. directly and discuss the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan," he said.
War-ravaged Afghanistan witnessed a record numbers of civilian casualties in the first six months of 2018, according to a UN report released Sunday.Again urging parties to the conflict to protect the civilian population and reach a peaceful settlement, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed 5,122 civilian casualties (1,692 deaths and 3,430 injured), which is the most recorded in the first half of the year since it began documenting civilian casualties in 2009.11 killed in Afghan, Pakistani border skirmishThis came despite an unprecedented three-day holiday cease-fire by the Afghan government and Taliban in June.“The brief cease-fire demonstrated that the fighting can be stopped and that Afghan civilians no longer need to bear the brunt of the war,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan.We will not allow July 15 to be forgotten, nor will we forget: ErdoğanThe use of suicide and non-suicide IEDs caused nearly half of all civilian casualties, the report stated, while blaming 52 percent of casualties on Daesh. The Taliban were responsible for 40 percent.
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit new high: UN
He said that as a first step, he expected to see Taliban leaders removed from a United Nations black list in order to be able to travel. He also said the issue of international troops in Afghanistan would be a major issue and that the Taliban would be willing to discuss U.S. concerns.
U.S. officials have said that Trump has shown growing impatience with a lack of progress in Afghanistan, where the Taliban control much of the country despite a more aggressive campaign of air strikes announced last year.
The insurgents have rejected talks with the government of President Ashraf Ghani, which they see as illegitimate and instead insisted that they would only talk with the United States.
Pompeo has said that while the overall peace process must be Afghan-led, Washington would be ready to join talks, a shift from its previous position that only Ghani's government had legitimacy to talk with the Taliban.
In a rare united call, leading political parties in Afghanistan on Saturday urged the government to roll back the ongoing voter registration process amid reports of rampant irregularities and violent protests in the north of the country.In the capital Kabul, leaders of the Hezb-e-Islami led by the former Mujahedeen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Jamiat-e-Islami led by the interim Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, Wahdat-e-Islami led by the government’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Mohaqiq, Junbish-e-Islami led by Vice President Abdul Rasheed Dostum, and representatives of former President Hamid Karzai gathered for consultation on this October’s elections.A declaration issued after the meeting charged the Afghan government and the Independent Election Commission (IEC) with wasting millions of dollars and precious time on a “faulty” voter registration drive. They urged the use of all available options to push for their demands for drastic changes, such as incorporating biometric technology, in the electoral process.This comes as Dostum's supporters have closed down IEC offices in four northern provinces of the country while protesting the arrest of a local militia commander, Nezamuddin Qaisari, charged with misuse of power, intimidation and human rights violations.The already delayed and overdue district and parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held this October. According to the IEC, the voter registration drive is going ahead swiftly with transparency, with close to 9 million Afghans already registered with a week left to go.
Afghan politicians urge rolling back voter drive
He has also said the United States is willing to discuss the position of international forces in Afghanistan, which the Taliban have said must leave as a condition for negotiations.
Senior U.S. officials, including Pompeo and Alice Wells, the State Department's top diplomat for Afghanistan, have visited Kabul in recent weeks to try to smooth the way for talks.
Many obstacles still remain before a conflict which has killed a record number of civilians this year can end. While all sides say they want talks, and there have been behind-the-scenes contacts, the only major peace talks broke down almost immediately after they started in 2015.