KABUL (Pajhwok): US special envoy for reconciliation in Afghanistan on Thursday reiterated his claim of making significant progress in talks with Taliban negotiators and said there was still work to be done on other vital issues like intra-Afghan dialogue and a complete ceasefire.
In a series of tweets, Zalmay Khalilzad said skeptics rushed to judgment based on just the first part of a much larger effort.
“We’re not even finished with these issues yet, and there is still work to be done on other vital issues like intra-Afghan dialogue and a complete ceasefire.”
He said the path to peace did often run in a straight line and the situation in Afghanistan was complex.
“Like all sensitive talks, not everything is conducted in public. We made significant progress on two vital issues: counter terrorism and troop withdrawal. That doesn’t mean we’re done.”
He said the Afghanistan’s forty-year-old war could be be resolved in one meeting. “Even if that meeting runs for close to a week,” as he referred to his marathon talks with the Taliban in the UAE and Qatar.
“This is a moment for Afghans to begin to heal old wounds and chart a new course for their country. There are many players, many issues, and many moving parts. But we are on the right path, together.”
A day earlier, President Ghani said the keys to war were in Pakistan and by contrast the keys to peace were in Afghanistan.
