Only Afghan-led talks will do, Karzai says

Afghans must lead any peace negotiations to end the war in their country, spokesman says

Last updated:
1 MIN READ

Kabul:  Afghans must lead any peace negotiations to end the war in their country, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday, in a swipe at Qatar after reports that the Gulf state had agreed to set up an unofficial Taliban embassy.

Kabul recalled its ambassador to Qatar on Wednesday, hours after an Indian newspaper reported that final arrangements had been put in place for a Taliban office with "the privileges but not the formal protection of a diplomatic mission".

Qatari and US officials agreed the office with a Taliban representative, the report in The Hindu newspaper said, citing unnamed Indian diplomatic sources. Washington is keen to seek a political settlement to an expensive, decade-long war, but officials insist that process must be Afghan-led.

A spokesman for Karzai, long an advocate of peace talks with insurgents, confirmed yesterday that the recall had been prompted by concerns his government was being excluded.

"Recently there were some efforts outside Afghanistan with some countries that wanted to continue the peace process or negotiations with the armed opposition alone or... without taking consultations from Afghanistan," said spokesman Aimal Faizi.

"The aim of recalling our ambassador from Qatar was to discuss this issue," he added.

"We oppose any kind of negotiations where delegation or delegations of Afghanistan have no leading role and emphasise that any kind of negotiations must be led by Afghans."

Sign up for the Daily Briefing

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox

Up Next