The Taliban reiterated on Wednesday their long-held demand that all foreign troops get out of Afghanistan, rejecting a suggestion by US President Donald Trump of a lingering US focus on counter-terrorism after troops are drawn down.
Trump used his State of the Union address to stress the importance of accelerated talks with the hardline Islamist movement to end the longest of America’s “endless wars”.
Trump offered no specifics about when he would bring home the 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan but said progress in negotiations with the Taliban would enable a troop reduction and a “focus on counter-terrorism”.
Asked about Trump’s speech, a Taliban official told Reuters that all foreign troops in Afghanistan had to go.
“At the first step, we want all the foreign forces to leave and end the military presence in our country,” said Sohail Shahin, a spokesman for a Taliban office in Qatar and a member of a Taliban team now meeting Afghan opposition politicians in Moscow.
“But after ending their military presence, their non-military teams can come and we need them too, they can come and take part in the reconstruction and development process,” he said.
US officials have held several rounds of talks with the Taliban in Qatar since last year, in what is widely seen as the most serious bid for peace in the 17-year war.
Both sides hailed progress after the latest round, last month. The US team, led by veteran envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, is due to meet Taliban representatives there again on Feb. 25.
The Taliban imposed hardline Islamist rule across most of Afghanistan from 1996 until late 2001.
They were ousted by Afghan opposition forces, backed by US forces, for harbouring al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Ever since, the Taliban have been fighting to drive out foreign forces and defeat the Western-backed government in Kabul. Fighting has spread over the years to most regions of the country, with many thousands of people killed every year.
Diplomats said Trump’s comments appeared aimed at reassuring an Afghan government fearful about a swift withdrawal of Afghanistan’s US-led NATO force, and how embattled government troops would cope.
The Taliban have long condemned the Afghan government as a “puppet” and have not agreed to let its officials join their talks with Khalilzad.
Published in Daily Times, February 7th 2019.
