Foreign Minister Antony J. Blinken proposed a United Nations peace conference in Turkey aimed at forming an inclusive Afghan government with the Taliban and a three-month reduction in violence to to bring to a halt.
In a letter to President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan in which he called for his “urgent leadership”, Mr. Blinken indicated that Biden’s government had lost confidence in shaky negotiations between Mr. Ghani’s government and the Taliban. The extraordinary blunt letter, in which Mr. Blinken mnr. Ghani asked to ‘understand the urgency of my tone’, reflecting the American frustration over the Afghan President’s often uncompromising stance in established peace talks.
The existence of the letter was confirmed by a US official in Washington and the Afghan government.
Negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban began in September as part of a February 2020 agreement between the militants and the United States. But the talks faltered on issues such as prisoner exchanges and violence reduction.
Mr Blinken wrote that the United States had not decided on May 1 to withdraw the remaining 2,500 US troops from Afghanistan, as set out in its agreement with the Taliban. He expressed concern that “the security situation will worsen and that the Taliban could make a quick territorial gain” after a US withdrawal.
The State Department declined to comment on the letter, but said in a statement that “all options remain on the table” regarding the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
“After May 1, we have not taken any decisions on our position of power in Afghanistan,” the statement said.
An exit would create enormous security challenges for Mr. Ghani’s government and its overloaded security forces.
The United Nations-led conference in Turkey would include envoys from the United States, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran and India “to discuss a uniform approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan,” he said. Shiny written.
The existence of the letter was reported after Zalmay Khalilzad, the US peace envoy, last week outlined US policy options to Mr. Ghani’s government and the Taliban negotiators delivered. The proposals, which are intended to rekindle the stalled peace talks, have a roadmap for a future Afghan government with the Taliban representation, a revised Afghan constitution that uses the current one as a “first template” and conditions for a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.
The New York Times has obtained a copy of the proposals, dated Feb. 28, which Afghan officials confirmed they had received last week from Mr. Khalilzad was delivered.
It is significant that the proposals called for national elections after the establishment of a ‘Transitional Peace Government of Afghanistan’. The Taliban opposed elections and dismissed them as Western interference.
The proposals also include guaranteed rights for women and for religious and ethnic minorities, and protection for a free press. The Taliban violently oppressed women and minorities and did not allow independent news media when the group led Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
Taliban negotiators said they supported women’s rights within the strict requirements of Islamic law – the same austerity measures cited by the militants to ban women from schools and workplaces.
In the exposition that Mr. Khalilzad proposed, a High Council of Islamic Jurisprudence is proposed to advise an independent judiciary to resolve conflict over the interpretation of Islamic law. The proposals recognize Islam as the country’s official religion and recognize the importance of ‘Islamic values’ in a future Afghan state.
The outline proposes that the government and the Taliban each nominate seven members to the High Council, with a 15th member appointed by the Afghan president. Similar arrangements have been proposed for a commission to draft a revised constitution and for a joint commission for monitoring and implementing a ceasefire.
The proposals also called for the Taliban to ‘remove their military structures and officers from neighboring countries’. Pakistan provided a sanctuary for Taliban commanders and fighters who crossed back and forth to Afghanistan and allowed the militants to hold a political council in the country.
It is unlikely that both Pakistan and the Taliban will agree to such a proposal.
An introduction to the document states that it “sets out principles for government, security and the rule of law and that it offers options for power-sharing that can help the two parties reach a political settlement that ends the war.”
Biden’s government has said the Taliban has failed to meet its commitments to reduce violence and to cut ties with extremist groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. But Washington also became impatient with Mr. Ghani, who refused to consider an interim government that would almost certainly end his second term of five years as president.
Violence has escalated in Afghanistan in recent years, with persistent Taliban territorial gains and attacks on beleagured government forces. Ghani’s government has blamed the Taliban for a series of targeted assassinations on government officials and supporters, members of the security forces and their families, civil society lawyers and journalists.
The Taliban are using violence as leverage in the peace talks in Doha, Qatar, to pull out the negotiations while awaiting a decision by President Biden on the withdrawal of the gang on May 1.
The letter from mr. Blinken expressed impatience with the pace of negotiations, saying the United States intends to “move matters more fundamentally and faster toward a settlement and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.”
Asfandyar Mir, an analyst at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, said the Biden policy outlined in the letter from Mr. Blinken stated, “focused, aggressive, ambitious, but that it also carries enormous risks.”
He added: ‘It has far too many moving parts, and the time is not on the side of the government, and so it may fail. Some U.S. allies may have a setback, especially because “the Taliban are showing limited interest in meaningful engagement.”
Mr. Mir said the letter indicates that the government of Biden Mr. Ghani is seen as an obstacle to peace. “It’s in no mood to enjoy his parochialism,” he said.
In the letter from mr. Blinken, first reported by the independent channel TOLO News in Kabul, said the proposed three-month reduction in violence was intended to prevent a widely anticipated spring offensive by the Taliban, while the negotiations offered a chance at ‘ a new beginning is given.
“I urge you to strongly consider the proposal,” the secretary told Mr. Ghani said.
Mr Blinken had earlier indicated that US troops would not remain in Afghanistan indefinitely. Many analysts believe that Afghan security forces, already hampered by high casualties and casualties, would be hard pressed to deter the Taliban without the presence of US troops – even if Washington and coalition allies provided financial aid and military equipment. .
“I must also make it clear to you, Mr. President, that, as our policy process continues in Washington, the United States has not ruled out any option,” he said. Shiny written.
Adam Weinstein, a research fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, said the Biden government considered Mr. Ghani as an essential partner and as a roadblock for a peace agreement.
“This letter sends a strong message to Ghani to play ball or get out of the way,” he said.
Fatima Faizi reported from Kabul, Afghanistan.