Stalled Afghan Peace Talks... US Steps in for Direct Mediation

On the 12th of last month (local time), the opening ceremony of the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban insurgents was held in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The ceremony was attended by the Afghan government delegation, the Taliban, and Qatari government officials, with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (center) also present. [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Three weeks have passed since the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the armed rebel group 'Taliban' began, but progress remains stagnant, prompting the United States and others to step in as mediators.

According to local Afghan media and foreign news outlets on the 3rd, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan peace negotiations, recently met with the negotiation delegations of both sides in Doha, Qatar, the negotiation venue, to listen to their claims and attempt mediation.

After the meeting, Special Envoy Khalilzad said in an interview with the U.S. public radio station NPR, "Afghanistan and the United States must not repeat the mistakes of the 1990s," and added, "The negotiating parties must agree to a peaceful settlement."

The opening ceremony for the peace talks was held in Doha on the 12th of last month, but three weeks have passed with no progress in the negotiations. According to local media, the delegations of both sides have yet to agree on the rules, agenda, schedule, or whether to declare a ceasefire for the official main negotiations.

This is because the two sides are sharply divided over fundamental issues. In terms of political systems, unlike the Afghan government based on Western democratic systems, the Taliban aspires to a "religious state" faithful to Islamic law. Regarding the laws that will form the basis of the new national system, the Taliban wants the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic law to be fundamental. On the other hand, the government argues that measures are needed to protect minorities within Afghanistan, such as Shiites.

These conflicts are reported to have somewhat eased following Khalilzad's visit to Doha. Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), who oversees the government negotiation team, said on the 2nd, "Differences in opinions regarding religious law have been somewhat resolved." The Taliban side also stated, "The working-level negotiation teams have reached agreements on many issues."

However, due to the deep emotional rifts between the two sides after a long civil war and ongoing armed clashes, there are also views that it will take more time to achieve tangible results from the negotiations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.