Historic talks to begin between Taliban, Afghan govt

GBNEWS24 DESK//

The US-backed negotiations come six months later than planned owing to bitter disagreements over a controversial prisoner swap agreed in February.

Talks will begin a day after the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks which led the US to invade Afghanistan and topple the Taliban regime that had been sheltering Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The two sides must flesh out “how to move their country forward to reduce violence and deliver what the Afghan people are demanding — a reconciled Afghanistan with a government that reflects a country that isn’t at war,” said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will attend the talks’ opening.

President Donald Trump, up for re-election in November, has pushed hard to end America’s longest war and wants all foreign forces to leave Afghanistan by next year.

A comprehensive peace deal could take years, and will depend on the willingness of both sides to tailor their competing visions for the country.

The Taliban, who have refused to recognise President Ashraf Ghani’s government, will push to reshape Afghanistan into an Islamic “emirate”.

Ghani’s administration will seek to maintain the Western-backed status quo of a constitutional republic that has enshrined many rights including greater freedoms for women.

– Ending the war –

“My beard was black when the war began, it is snow white now and we are still in war,” said Kabul resident Obaidullah, 50.