Saturday, March 20, 2010
Afghanistan says Taliban arrests had 'negative impact'
11:04 PM | 
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The arrests in Pakistan of the Taliban's second-in-command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and others in the Islamists' hierarchy, had slowed down Afghan government peace initiatives, Siamak Hirawi told AFP.
"We confirm the negative impact of the arrests on the peace process that the Afghan government has initiated," said Hirawi, Karzai's deputy spokesman.
His comments were the first official confirmation from the Kabul government that it had been in contact with the Taliban with the intention of discussing an end to the insurgency, now in its ninth year.
He also confirmed that the UN's former envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, had held peace talks with Taliban figures and said Eide had kept the Afghan government informed.
Eide's talks were part of a process initiated by the UN to help the Afghan government's peace plan, Hirawi said.
"Mr Kai Eide's efforts were a supplement to Afghan government's efforts.
"The Afghan government has been leading this process and the United Nations has tried to help efforts to solve the Afghan problem through talks, and the international community has also agreed with us," he said.
"The international community has agreed with us that those Afghans who are not linked to foreign intelligence or terrorist organisations" can be part of the peace process, he added, apparently referring to Pakistan and Al-Qaeda.
Karzai's office previously said there had been no "direct" contact with the Taliban and refused to comment on any indirect contact. There has also been no official mention of contact with the movement's leadership.
Hirawi made no reference to Taliban leaders, possibly reflecting the complexity of the issue, which involves multiple parties and has attracted opposition from inside and outside Afghanistan.
The United States and Nato allies have more than 120,000 soldiers in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, with another 30,000 on the way as part of a strategy to bring an end to the war and allow a troop drawdown.
Eide, who stepped down from the UN post earlier this month, confirmed in a BBC interview on Friday that he had held talks with senior Taliban figures, starting around a year ago.
Face-to-face talks were held with senior Taliban leadership figures in Dubai and elsewhere, said the diplomat, adding he believed the movement's leader, Mullah Omar, had given the process the green light.
"The first contact was probably last spring, then of course you moved into the election process where there was a lull in activity," the Norwegian diplomat said.
"Communication picked up when the election process was over, and it continued to pick up until a certain moment a few weeks ago."
He was referring to the arrest of senior Taliban commanders, including Baradar, in Pakistan, something welcomed by the US as a sign of the country's increasing willingness to track down Afghan militant leaders.
"The government of Afghanistan is trying to encourage somehow the government of Pakistan to cooperate in this process," Hirawi said.
Eide said the detentions in Pakistan had a "negative" impact on attempts to find a political solution to the Afghan war and suggested Pakistan had deliberately tried to undermine the negotiations.
The US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, by contrast, praised the arrests, telling reporters on Friday he had been aware of the UN-Taliban contact but the United States played no role.
"This is a good thing for the simplest of reasons. It is good for the military efforts that are underway in Afghanistan," he said.
"We confirm the negative impact of the arrests on the peace process that the Afghan government has initiated," said Hirawi, Karzai's deputy spokesman.
His comments were the first official confirmation from the Kabul government that it had been in contact with the Taliban with the intention of discussing an end to the insurgency, now in its ninth year.
He also confirmed that the UN's former envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, had held peace talks with Taliban figures and said Eide had kept the Afghan government informed.
Eide's talks were part of a process initiated by the UN to help the Afghan government's peace plan, Hirawi said.
"Mr Kai Eide's efforts were a supplement to Afghan government's efforts.
"The Afghan government has been leading this process and the United Nations has tried to help efforts to solve the Afghan problem through talks, and the international community has also agreed with us," he said.
"The international community has agreed with us that those Afghans who are not linked to foreign intelligence or terrorist organisations" can be part of the peace process, he added, apparently referring to Pakistan and Al-Qaeda.
Karzai's office previously said there had been no "direct" contact with the Taliban and refused to comment on any indirect contact. There has also been no official mention of contact with the movement's leadership.
Hirawi made no reference to Taliban leaders, possibly reflecting the complexity of the issue, which involves multiple parties and has attracted opposition from inside and outside Afghanistan.
The United States and Nato allies have more than 120,000 soldiers in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, with another 30,000 on the way as part of a strategy to bring an end to the war and allow a troop drawdown.
Eide, who stepped down from the UN post earlier this month, confirmed in a BBC interview on Friday that he had held talks with senior Taliban figures, starting around a year ago.
Face-to-face talks were held with senior Taliban leadership figures in Dubai and elsewhere, said the diplomat, adding he believed the movement's leader, Mullah Omar, had given the process the green light.
"The first contact was probably last spring, then of course you moved into the election process where there was a lull in activity," the Norwegian diplomat said.
"Communication picked up when the election process was over, and it continued to pick up until a certain moment a few weeks ago."
He was referring to the arrest of senior Taliban commanders, including Baradar, in Pakistan, something welcomed by the US as a sign of the country's increasing willingness to track down Afghan militant leaders.
"The government of Afghanistan is trying to encourage somehow the government of Pakistan to cooperate in this process," Hirawi said.
Eide said the detentions in Pakistan had a "negative" impact on attempts to find a political solution to the Afghan war and suggested Pakistan had deliberately tried to undermine the negotiations.
The US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, by contrast, praised the arrests, telling reporters on Friday he had been aware of the UN-Taliban contact but the United States played no role.
"This is a good thing for the simplest of reasons. It is good for the military efforts that are underway in Afghanistan," he said.
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