Representatives of four countries gathered amid tight security in the Afghan capital Kabul today for a second round of talks aimed at bringing an end to Afghanistan's 15-year war with the Taliban by charting a roadmap to peace.
Senior officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States would meet for one day, a week after a first round of discussions in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, said Shekib Mostaghni, the Afghan Foreign Ministry's spokesman.
Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani opened the meeting at the Presidential Palace in the center of the capital calling on the Taliban to "accept the government's call for peace through dialogue."
"There isn't a single Afghan family that hasn't been affected by the daily acts of brutal and deadly terrorism carried out across our cities, towns, and villages," Rabbani said in the televised speech.
"I take this opportunity and call on all Taliban groups to accept our call for peace through dialogue, and to come to the table for talks so that we can resolve all differences politically and ensure the rightful and just desire of the Afghan people for lasting peace," he said.
The meeting which does not include Taliban representatives is part of a three-step process, said Abdul Hakim Mujahid of Kabul's High Peace Council, set up by former President Hamid Karzai to bring about an end to the war. Mujahid also served in the Taliban's 1996-2001 administration.
"The first step is to formulate a roadmap, the second is to invite the armed opposition to the negotiating table and the last step is the implementation of the peace plan," Mujahid told The Associated Press.
Analysts have said it will be months before even the second stage bringing the Taliban into direct dialogue with Kabul is reached. Meanwhile, the insurgents are stepping up their war against Kabul, as Afghan forces fight largely without the support of international troops after the U.S. And NATO combat mission drawdown at the end of 2014. This is seen as an attempt to boost legitimacy on the battlefield so the Taliban can enter any peace talks from a position of strength.
Independent analyst Haroun Mir said the talks also aimed to build trust between Afghanistan and Pakistan as "President Ghani has said first peace with Pakistan and then the Taliban."
After spending much of the first year of his presidency attempting to mend fences with Pakistan and cajole Islamabad into ending its alleged support for the Taliban in cities close to the Afghan border, Ghani sent bilateral relations into a chill after a series of deadly attacks in Kabul that he blamed on Pakistani-sponsored insurgent groups. Pakistan has denied accusations that it supports the Taliban on its soil.
