DOHA: The US and the Taliban will seek to thrash out elements of a deal to bring a close to Afghanistan’s 18-year conflict in the second day of renewed talks in Doha on Sunday.
The US, which invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban in 2001, wants to withdraw thousands of troops and turn the page on its longest ever war.
But it would first seek assurances from the insurgents that they would renounce Al-Qaeda and stop other militants like the Daesh group using the country as a haven.
The talks, now in their eighth round, began on Saturday and were due to resume Sunday morning after pausing overnight, US and Taliban sources told AFP.
A Taliban source also said efforts were underway to organize a direct meeting between US envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar, who heads the movement’s political wing.
A coalition led by Washington ousted the Taliban in late 2001 accusing it of harboring Al-Qaeda jihadists who claimed the September 11 attacks against the US that killed almost 3,000 people.
But despite a rapid conclusion to the conventional phase of the war, the Taliban have proved formidable insurgents, bogging down US troops for years.
Washington is hoping to strike a peace deal with the Taliban by September 1 — ahead of Afghan polls due the same month, and US presidential elections due in 2020.
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that “we’ve made a lot of progress. We’re talking.”
“We are pursuing a peace agreement not a withdrawal agreement, a peace agreement that enables withdrawal,” Khalilzad tweeted on Friday as he arrived in Doha after talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.
“Our presence in Afghanistan is conditions-based, and any withdrawal will be conditions-based.”
In another sign of progress, the Afghan government has formed a negotiating team for separate peace talks with the Taliban that diplomats hope could be held as early as later this month.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that an initial deal to end the war would see the US force in Afghanistan reduced to as low as 8,000 from the current level of around 14,000.
In exchange, the Taliban would abide by a cease-fire, renounce Al-Qaeda, and talk to the Kabul administration.
An Afghan official hinted last week that the government of President Ashraf Ghani was preparing for direct talks with the Taliban, the details of which have yet to be announced.
“We have no preconditions to begin talks, but the peace agreement is not without conditions,” Ghani wrote in Pashto on his Facebook page on Friday ahead of the talks.
“We want a republic government not an emirate,” he said, a challenge to the Taliban which has insisted on reverting to the “Islamic Emirate” name Afghanistan bore under its rule.
“The negotiations will be tough, and the Taliban should know that no Afghan is inferior in religion or courage to them.”
The thorny issues of power-sharing with the Taliban, the role of regional powers including Pakistan and India, and the fate of Ghani’s administration also remain unresolved.
The latest US-Taliban encounter follows last month’s talks between influential Afghans and the Taliban which agreed a “roadmap for peace” — but stopped short of calling for a cease-fire.
Kabul resident Somaya Mustafa, 20, said her country desperately needed a peace deal, but only one in which the Taliban “accept women and their achievements.”
“It is a total mess in our country right now. And if it continues, women will suffer more than anyone else.”
The United Nations has said that civilian casualty rates across Afghanistan matched record levels last month, following a dip earlier in the year.
US, Taliban push for peace in day 2 of talks
US, Taliban push for peace in day 2 of talks
- US special envoy headed to Doha after talks with Pakistani premier in Islamabad
- Washington hopes to strike a peace deal with the Taliban by September 1
Pakistan to launch last 2025 anti-polio nationwide drive targeting 45 million children next week
- Over 400,000 frontline health workers will participate in Dec. 15-21 nationwide polio vaccination campaign, say authorities
- Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world, the other being Afghanistan, where wild poliovirus remains endemic
KARACHI: Pakistan will kick off the last nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign of 2025 targeting 45 million children next week, the National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC) said on Monday, urging parents to coordinate with health workers during the drive.
The campaign takes place days after Pakistan launched a nationwide vaccination drive from Nov. 17-29 against measles, rubella and polio. Pakistan said it had targeted 22.9 million children across 89 high-risk districts in the country with oral polio vaccination drops during the drive.
Over 400,000 health workers will perform their duties during the upcoming Dec. 15-21 nationwide polio vaccination campaign, the NEOC said in a statement.
“Parents are urged to cooperate with polio workers and ensure their children are vaccinated,” the NEOC said. “Complete the routine immunization schedule for all children up to 15 months of age on time.”
Health authorities aim to vaccinate 23 million children in Punjab, 10.6 million in Sindh, over 7.2 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over 2.6 million in Balochistan, more than 460,000 in Islamabad, over 228,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and more than 760,000 children in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during the seven-day campaign, it added.
Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus remains endemic.
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine for every child under five during each campaign, alongside timely completion of all routine immunizations.
Islamabad’s efforts to eliminate poliovirus have been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on anti-polio workers by militant groups. In remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams often operate under police protection, though security personnel themselves have also been targeted and killed in attacks.
