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Feb-22-2012 00:29printcomments

Former Afghan FM: US Seeking to Legitimize Taliban through Negotiations

Some analysts are skeptical of the prospects for meaningful peace negotiations with the Taliban.

Obama and the chess board
Image courtesy: Fars News Agency

(TEHRAN FNA) - A prominent Afghan opposition figure said that the US is seeking to legitimize the Taliban through holding negotiations with the belligerent group, but meantime underlined that the US has failed to attain its goal.

"… No doubt the Taliban is eager to negotiate with the US since the group sees the talks a positive step towards its legitimacy," former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah told FNA.

He said that some foreign countries have taken advantage through involvement in Afghan peace talks after the Afghan government failed to encourage the Taliban to hold talks with the central government within the geographical borders of Afghanistan.

In January, first Vice-Speaker of the Afghan Senate Mohammad Alam Izadyar criticized the secret talks between the US and the Taliban, and stated that the so-called Afghan Peace Talks lack "transparency".

"Details of the Afghan peace talks should not be hidden from the people of the country," Izadyar told Afghanistan TV at the time.

The developments came as Pakistani media revealed last week that the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has removed the name of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar from the list of "most wanted terrorists."

Taliban announced at the time that they had struck a deal to open a political office in Qatar that could allow for direct negotiations.

In a statement, Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said that along with a preliminary deal to set up the office in Qatar, the group was asking that Taliban detainees held at the American prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, be released.

Some analysts are skeptical of the prospects for meaningful peace negotiations with the Taliban.

The developments came as Pakistani media revealed last week that the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has removed the name of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar from the list of "most wanted terrorists."

Mullah Mohammed Omar

The report came following Washington's secret meetings with the Taliban after one decade of war. US officials have held several meetings with representatives of the Afghan Taliban leader, headed by Tayyib Agha, in Germany and Qatar over the past months.

During the meetings, the US and Taliban negotiators reached a deal to transfer five Taliban militants, who are under custody in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, to Qatar. The removal of Mullah Omar's name from the terror list comes after the prisoner deal.

The founder of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, has been in hiding since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Washington removed Mullah Omar's name despite its continued allegations that the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden were behind the September, 11 attacks in the US. Mullah Omar was Bin Laden's staunchest ally and most intimate friend.

The United States invaded Afghanistan 10 years ago under the pretext of eradicating the Taliban, but its failure has forced Washington to turn to negotiation with militants.

The US government has planned new round of talks with the Taliban in early 2012.

Special thanks to Fars News Agency

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9010174680





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