by Farid Behbud
KABUL, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The opening by the Taliban of its political office in Doha, Qatar, has strained Afghan-U.S. relations, with President Hamid Karzai announcing that he has cancelled further talks with Washington on a security pact that would govern the country's future relations with the U.S. after 2014.
Nearly 12 years after it was ousted from power by the U.S.-led coalition forces, the Taliban announced that it is now ready to launch direct talks with the U.S. as well as with international organizations, including the United Nations.
U.S. President Barack Obama also confirmed that Washington would engage the Taliban in a peace dialogue in order to achieve peace in Afghanistan.
The first meeting between U.S. officials and the Taliban was scheduled to take place on Thursday in Doha but this was cancelled for some unknown reasons. The Taliban opened on Tuesday its first official office overseas in Doha.
In announcing the opening of its Doha bureau, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Nahim said the Taliban will use all military and political means to end the occupation of the country, a statement which has angered many Afghans, including President Karzai.
"Over the past decade, the Taliban has emerged as a military threat to Afghanistan but after the recent developments, it is also emerging as a political power working against the Afghan government," Faizullah Jalal, a Kabul University lecturer, told a local TV network.
What angered Karzai most was the use of the term -- Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -- in its Doha office. This was the name of the Taliban government before it was driven out in late 2001 by the U.S.-led invasion force. The Taliban also raised its white flag at the building that houses its bureau.
On Wednesday, to show his anger, Karzai announced that his country has called off the ongoing talks between Kabul and Washington over the proposed security agreement which would legalize the presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after the U.S. and NATO forces' pullout from the country in 2014.
Jalal, who is also a respected political analyst, said that the tension between Kabul and Washington at this critical stage while Afghanistan is preparing for the 2014 presidential elections as well as the pullout of NATO-led troops by the end of next year would have a negative impact on the Karzai administration and the country's stability.
Karzai and senior Afghan officials have accused the U.S. of contradicting its earlier written assurances that a new Taliban office in Qatar will not be used as a diplomatic mission or a parallel entity.
Akbar Jan Polad, political analyst of Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, said that over the past decade, the Afghan government had repeatedly called on the Taliban to join the peace process but now that the Taliban is ready to talk, it is the Karzai government that is backing out.
During a consultative meeting with members of the High Peace Council, the Karzai also announced that he would no longer send any government delegation to the Qatar talks.
"Now, the Taliban is ready for talks. They do not control any district in Afghanistan. They cannot represent a political creature. It is an opportunity for the government and the High Peace Council to take advantage of the situation and talk to the Taliban," Polad said.
For his part, Jalal said that the recent reaction of Afghanistan over the setting up of the Taliban office in Doha and the confrontation with the international community would further marginalize Afghanistan.
Because of recent events, majority of the Afghans are pessimistic about the prospects of peace and stability in this central Asian country.
|
