Pakistan to host 4-nation Taliban talks

A four-nation conference on Afghan reconciliation process will be held in Islamabad on Monday to explore ways to create a consensus for talks between the Taliban and Afghanistan’s government, officials said on Saturday.

The four-nation group was set up in 2015 to expedite the process of reconciliation in the war-torn country after decades of bloodshed.

“Representatives of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US will participate in the preparatory talks,” an official said.

Pakistan will be represented by foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, Afghanistan by deputy foreign minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai and China and the US by their respective special envoys for Afghanistan and Pakistan region.

The official said the four countries will set the platform for talks and also prepare an agenda for the second round of parley.

The first round was held in July but the process was suspended in the same month after news of Taliban chief Mullah Omar’s death was announced.

The second round may take place towards the end of January if the four nations agreed on the minimum agenda, the official said.

It is believed that the process of peace in Afghanistan will be testing for parties due to strong opposition within Afghanistan towards any peace with Taliban.

Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Ahmad Shekib Mostaghni said on Saturday that the representatives will discuss a “roadmap for peace talks.”

Monday’s talks do not include the Taliban, who have been battling the US-backed government for nearly 15 years and have recently stepped up their attacks. Pakistan is believed to have influence over the Taliban, but relations with Kabul have been tense in recent months. Both accuse each other of backing the Taliban along their porous border.

Talks with the Taliban have been on hold since July, when they collapsed after just one meeting following Afghanistan’s announcement that longtime Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had been dead for more than two years. The Taliban called off its participation and a second meeting was cancelled.

A subsequent power struggle within the Taliban has raised questions about who would represent the insurgents if and when the talks with Kabul are revived.

Pakistan is believed to have influence over the Taliban, but relations with Kabul have been tense in recent months. The two countries have long accused each other of backing the Taliban and other insurgents operating along their porous border.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took part in a regional conference last month in Islamabad, which called for the resumption of the Afghan-Taliban peace negotiations. Ghani was given a warm welcome at the meeting, which was also attended by U.S. and Chinese representatives.

Analysts have cautioned that despite the rapprochement between Kabul and Islamabad, any substantive peace talks are still months off.