US special envoy to Afghanistan to talk peace with Taliban militants
The US envoy for "peace in Afghanistan" reportedly plans to meet with representatives of the Taliban militant group later this month during an international tour to promote the peace talks opposed by the Afghan government.
The US State Department announced on Saturday that Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad will visit Afghanistan, Belgium, Germany, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates through June 16, noting that he will hold talks with Taliban officials in the Qatari capital of Doha.
According to the announcement, Khalilzad is to meet with the Afghan government and other Afghans, including representatives of civil society and women’s rights groups.
The ongoing peace talks came more than 17 years after the US military invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the ruling Taliban government and to flush out the Saudi-backed terrorist group at the time, vowing to bring stability to the war-ravaged nation.
The Trump administration is currently negotiating with the group to facilitate a withdrawal of US troops, though the talks have been met with bipartisan skepticism on Capitol Hill.
The negotiations between Washington and Taliban militants have also failed to make significant progress thus far, though they did raise eyebrows earlier this year when the Pentagon reportedly asked Congress for funds to reimburse the armed group for transportation and other expenses related to attending the peace negotiations.
The development comes as Taliban’s leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada vowed earlier on Saturday to continue battling US-led foreign forces in the country until its objectives are fulfilled, stressing that the group did not plan to sit down for talks with the government in Kabul.
In an official message, the Taliban leader further sought "an end to the occupation" and a government that represented the entire Afghan population, but offered no sign of agreeing to a ceasefire or negotiating with the central government.
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