- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

US May Drop Kabul From Talks With Taliban Over Official’s Criticism – Report

© AFP 2023 / Fabrice CoffriniNational Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib attends a press conference closing a two-day United Nations Conference on Afghanistan in Geneva.
National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib attends a press conference closing a two-day United Nations Conference on Afghanistan in Geneva. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Although the Taliban and the US made "meaningful progress" in the last round of talks, the final agreement is yet to be signed. The next talks are set to take place in Doha, Qatar in late March, but it seems that the Afghan government itself risks being left out.

US officials are refusing to participate in any further talks that include the Afghan president's national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, following his recent criticism of the US, Reuters reported, citing several anonymous sources. This means that Afghanistan may be left out of the next round of talks between Washington and the Taliban, unless it sends someone else.

Taliban fighters. (File) - Sputnik International
US, Taliban Agree on American Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan – Reports

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale reportedly informed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that Mohib is no longer welcome in Washington or the US in as a whole and that no American officials would deal with him.

One former Afghan official told Reuters that the move is an attempt to force Ghani to "oust" his national security adviser. The report has not been commented on by either of the two countries' top officials.

In a heated speech during a press conference in Washington, Mohib accused US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad of "delegitimising the Afghan government", while granting legitimacy to the Taliban and holding talks with them on issues officially regulated by Kabul.

READ MORE: US, Taliban Make 'Meaningful Progress' in Talks — State Department

The national security adviser also suggested that Khalilzad was attempting to create a "caretaker government" by using the Taliban, in which he would be a "viceroy". Mohib's statements were condemned by the US State Department.

People sit on the corniche in Doha, Qatar, June 15, 2017. - Sputnik International
No Agreement Reached at US-Taliban Talks in Qatar - Statement

The scandal erupted amid ongoing talks between the Taliban and the US, which wants to secure assurances that the country won't become a safe haven for terrorists planning attacks in exchange for a military withdrawal. Although the deal hasn't been signed yet, the sides reportedly agreed to a certain framework and made "meaningful progress" in the talks the last time they met.

The United States has been conducting a military operation against the Taliban and other groups in Afghanistan since 2001 as a response to the 9/11 attacks. US troops overthrew the Taliban, which had been governing the country since 1996, accusing them of turning it into a safe haven for al-Qaeda*.

While most US troops left Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Washington continues to support the Afghan Armed Forces in combating terrorism.

*al-Qaeda — a terrorist group, banned in numerous states, including Russia

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала