Ex-president: Peace possible when all Afghans sit together

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s former President Hamid Karzai said Friday that peace in his homeland, ravaged by more than 17 years of war, will only be possible when Afghans from all sectors of society sit together and negotiate — including the Taliban.

Karzai expressed disappointment that a scheduled gathering for Afghan-to-Afghan talks in Qatar was postponed indefinitely after a falling out over who should attend. It would have marked the first time that Taliban and Kabul government officials sat together.

The talks, which were to start Friday in Doha, where the Taliban maintain an office, were considered a significant first step toward finding a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan, America’s longest conflict, and the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

The Taliban had previously refused to hold direct talks with the Afghan government, calling it a puppet of the U.S. They subsequently gave in to pressure and agreed to talks that included Kabul representatives, though they said they would recognize them only as ordinary Afghans, rather than government officials or ministers.

On Thursday, however, Qatar’s Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, which sponsors the talks, announced the postponement, saying “this is unfortunately necessary to further build consensus as to who should participate in the conference.”

In an interview with The Associated Press, Karzai would not blame either side for the cancellation, instead urging the United States to “put force behind it to make it (talks) happen.”

He also praised Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad as “the very best person for the job” of resolving the Afghan crisis.

“I believe the United States wants some sort of settlement in Afghanistan,” Karzai told The Associated Press. “I do believe that, but I want the U.S. to be much clearer about its roadmap ... to do everything it can to make the process move forward.” 

In a statement Friday, the Taliban said Ghani had sabotaged the talks by declaring the people on his list were government representatives. Ghani in turn blamed the Taliban for scuttling the talks by getting Qatar to allow a different list, one that had dropped several government ministers and 44 women.- Read More

Ex-president: Peace possible when all Afghans sit together - AP News