Kabul (dpa) – The Afghan Taliban said Tuesday they would open an office in Qatar and were willing to enter discussions – but not peace talks – after a decade of insurgency against the international forces that toppled their regime. The time was right to “have an office outside the country for the purpose of starting a dialogue with the international community,” spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said. “We have reached an initial agreement for the Taliban office in Qatar,” he added. The Taliban also said they had asked the United States to release their members who remain incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay prison. The Taliban listed the two main sides in the current conflict as the US and its allies, and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – as they have described themselves since their reign in Kabul between 1996 and 2001. Their statement – which did not say that the Taliban had any interest in peace talks – made no reference to the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai. It did say however that, since the start of the US-led war in 2001, the Taliban's “stance has been against the invasion”. “The invasion of Afghanistan should be put to an end and the Afghans should be left to establish their desired Islamic government,” it said. Over the phone, Mujahid told dpa that opening an office did not mean an end to their military operations. “This is not an end of our holy battle against the invaders,” Mujahid said. A US embassy official said the Taliban must end their association with al Qaeda and renounce violence. “We support an Afghan-led reconciliation process in which the Taliban break with al Qaeda, renounce violence and accept the Afghan constitution, especially its protections for minorities and women,” said Gavin Sundwall, spokesman for the US Embassy in Kabul. Western and Afghan officials hope the office could be used to engage the Taliban in peace talks, although the Islamist organization has maintained that it would only enter a peace deal when all foreign soldiers leave. Western allies – who have been involved in the Afghan war for more than a decade – have committed to withdrawing from the country by the end of 2014, despite concerns that national security forces will not be ready to take up the challenge. Reports last month of a US-initiated attempt to allow insurgents to open the liaison office prompted Kabul to recall its ambassador to Qatar, concerned that the Afghan government would be sidelined in ensuing talks. Later, Karzai agreed to the proposal, but said he would prefer their office to be in Saudi Arabia or Turkey. Hopes of eventual peace with the Taliban faded in September when former president Burhanuddin Rabbani – the head of the High Peace Council set up by Karzai to initiate talks – was killed by a suicide bomber who purported to be a Taliban peace messenger. The Taliban neither claimed nor rejected their involvement in the killing. Afghan officials have maintained that the Taliban office in Qatar should be used only as a contact point and not for propaganda. There should be a ceasefire before negotiations start, a High Peace Council member said. “The Taliban should also respect the Afghan constitution and the government,” he told dpa. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/bQ8kU Tags: Afghanistan, Office, Taliban Section: Asia, Latest News, Qatar
