Taliban, Afghanistan and Pakistan

Amir Qadir Khan

Dhu al-Hijjah 17, 1436 2015-10-01

Letters To The Editor

by Amir Qadir Khan (Letters To The Editor, Crescent International Vol. 44, No. 8, Dhu al-Hijjah, 1436)

The Afghan intelligence agency sabotaged talks with the Taliban but is now blaming Pakistan for not bringing the Taliban to the table for talks.

The much hoped-for peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government at the end of July were sabotaged when the Afghan intelligence agency revealed that Mullah Omar had died. The secretive Taliban leader had died two years earlier. The Tajik-dominated intelligence agency does not want peace with the Taliban because it would strengthen President Ashraf Ghani’s hand and marginalize the Tajiks. Instead, they are blaming Pakistan for failing to bring the Taliban for peace talks. Afghan ingratitude knows no bounds.

Amir Qadir Khan

Peshawar, Pakistan