The Taliban’s chief negotiator Mawlavi Abdul Hakim traveled to Pakistan from Doha to consult and seek guidance from Taliban leadership and find out whether the delay in the withdrawal of US forces will lead to a halt in the talks and Istanbul conference, or if there are other ways to proceed, sources close to the group said on Thursday.
Referring to the trip, Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said that the Taliban’s delegation visited Pakistan to seek guidance from the Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
“Whenver there is a stalemate in the talks in Qatar, they (Taliban) say that we are going to consult our elders, in reality, ‘elders’ means that ‘we are going to seek suggestions from the ISI and the {Pakistani} army,’” said Saleh.
“Now is the time for Pakistan to choose either a win-win policy or a lose-lose policy,” said President Ashraf Ghani during a trip to the southern Kandahar province.
The Taliban recently said the extension of US troops in the country was a reason for their non-participation at the Turkey conference.
“The US acted in contrast to the Doha agreement, now the Taliban need to consult their elders, I know that they have gone to Pakistan,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban member.
This comes a day after the US-backed Afghan peace conference in Turkey was postponed because of non-participation by the Taliban.
The conference was scheduled for April 24 and was expected to see inclusive participation from parties to the Afghan conflict.
Courtesy: TOLO NEWS
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