Peace Talks

Afghan High Peace Council. The organization set up by the Afghan government to coordinate the reconciliation and reintegration of the Taliban leadership and fighter ranks has come under criticism. The High Peace Council has been in existence for several years but its progress in its mission has been slow or non-existent according to some critics. Read "Afghanistan's High Peace Council: Five Years On", Institute for War & Peace Reporting, January 2016.

Opening Speech by Rabbani. Rabbani opened up the Kabul peace talk meetings held on Monday, January 18, 2016 with a nine-minute long speech urging the Taliban to join the peace process. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ReXNklPuIw

Red Lines. The Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Salahuddin Rabbani, stated that that the Afghan government would not support an open-ended process without some tangible results. See "Afghanistan Wants 'Red Lines' in Peace Process", Voice of America, January 18, 2016. Rabbani also stated that all Taleban factions should join the peace talks. (Radio Free Europe, Jan 18, 2016).

5 Myths on Peace Talks. Christopher Kolenda writes about "Five Myths to Dispel on An Afghan Peace", Gandhara Blog, January 21, 2016.

Unofficial Talks in Qatar? Some news reports indicate that a possible two-day meeting between the Taliban and Afghan officials could take place in the gulf state of Qatar. Read "Afghan, Taliban Envoys Expected to Meet in Qatar", Voice of America, January 22, 2016.

Next Scheduled Talks. So the talking will go on. The next meeting will be on February 6, 2016 in Islamabad to finalize peace talks road map and mechanisms. The ultimate goal of these current talks are to get the representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban into direct negotiations. At the moment, it would appear the Taliban will likely not enter the talks - as they have the Afghan security forces on the defense and they are fighting through the winter season (usually a break in the fighting).

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