On Saturday, the Taliban confirmed they would not join the next round of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) peace talks held by the United States, China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in Islamabad, Pakistan this month (NYT, WSJ, CNN, Reuters, FT). According to a statement from the Taliban’s website, “We reject all such rumors and unequivocally state that the leader of Islamic Emirate (the Taliban) has not authorized anyone to participate in this meeting.” The statement then listed the preconditions needed for Taliban participation in the peace talks, saying, “(Islamic Emirate) once again reiterates that unless the occupation of Afghanistan is ended, black lists eliminated and innocent prisoners freed, such futile misleading negotiations will not bear any results.” The Taliban’s announcement comes after Afghan and QCG officials voiced their expectations in recent weeks for engaging directly with the Taliban in the next round of peace talks. In addition, Taliban and Afghan officials met in Doha, Qatar – the site of the group’s political office – in a discreet meeting at the end of February, but it yielded no immediate results in advancing the peace talks.
On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani spoke about the state of the peace talks via video conference, as Obama reiterated the United States’ commitment to peace in Afghanistan and the region (Reuters, NYT, WH).
Despite no official face-to-face peace-talk meetings yet, Afghan officials remain optimistic that can change. One Afghan official close to Ghani said, “This is just public bargaining on the part of the Taliban. They did it last time, too. They put out a statement of denial, and then they showed up to talks.” The Taliban continues to operate and gain strength in many Afghan provinces, particularly Helmand, and causes strained relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan as the group occupies territory on both sides of the border.
Ghani claims victory over IS in Nangarhar
Speaking before the opening of parliament on Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani announced the Afghan army’s victory over Islamic State (IS) forces in the country’s eastern Nangarhar province and expressed his commitment to the group’s overall defeat (AP, Al Jazeera). “Afghanistan will be their graveyard,” he said. Following a 21-day battle with IS militants in the Nangarhar districts of Achin and Shinwar, Afghan forces claimed victory in an operation that killed a reported 200 IS fighters. According to former commander of U.S.-NATO forces in Afghanistan Gen. John F. Campbell, there are between 1,000 and 1,300 IS fighters in the country.