Kabul, May 27: Germany, a NATO ally and leading donor in Afghanistan, has been holding peace talks with the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban in an effort to resume the Afghan peace talks which aimed at putting an end to the 18-year-long war and crisis in war-ravaged Afghan nation, as per officials.
While the Taliban have so far reiterated its refusal to hold talks with the Afghan government, calling it a puppet of America, it has been holding peace talks with the United States officials since last October over the withdrawal of foreign troops from the region.
According to Dawn news reports, Markus Potzel, Berlin’s special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, has paid an official visit to Kabul for peace talks with the Afghan government and has met with Taliban officials in Qatar’s capital Doha twice this month.
Potzel stated, “The current chance for a process towards a more peaceful Afghanistan should not be missed. If the friends of Afghanistan and Germany … can help in this effort, then we should do it.”
“In the end, only the Afghans themselves, including the Taliban, can decide upon the future of their country.”
US special representative for Afghan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has said in March a draft agreement has been reached over the withdrawal of American troops from Afghan in exchange for Taliban’s commitment to cut ties with the militant entities like al-Qaeda.
But however, there has been no draft agreement reached yet for a complete ceasefire or to restart peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a top German official said, “We realize that US-Taliban talks will gain momentum only if the militant leaders start engaging with the Afghan [government] representatives.”
He said talks were held with the German government over Taliban-Afghan meeting in Germany but however, no decision has been reached out yet.
Taliban’s Qatari political office spokesperson Sohail Shaheen has said Germany was among those nations who have offered support to seeking a peaceful resolution in the region.