A fresh effort to
end Afghanistan's 12-year-old war looked in disarray on Thursday after a
diplomatic spat about the Taliban's new Qatar office delayed
preliminary discussions between the United States and the Islamist
insurgents.
Talks between U.S. officials
and representatives of the Taliban had been set for Thursday in Qatar
but Afghan government anger at the fanfare surrounding the opening of a
Taliban office in the Gulf state threw preparations into confusion.
The
squabble may set the tone for what could be long and arduous
negotiations to end a war that has raged since the U.S. invasion of
Afghanistan that followed the September 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks on U.S. targets.
Asked
when the talks would now take place, the source in Doha said "There is
nothing scheduled that I am aware of." Asked if that meant they would
not happen today, the source added: "Yes that's correct."
The
opening of the office was a practical step paving the way for peace
talks. But the official-looking protocol surrounding the event raised
angry protests in Kabul that the office would develop into a Taliban
government-in-exile: A diplomatic scramble ensued to allay their
concerns.
A Taliban flag that had
been hoisted at the Taliban office on Tuesday had been taken down and
lay on the ground on Thursday, although it appeared still attached to a
flagpole.
A name plate, inscribed with the title "Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" had also been removed.
Questioned
whether the Taliban's office in Doha had created a sense of optimism
about peace efforts, the source replied: "Optimism and pessimism are
irrelevant. The most important thing is that we now know the Taliban are
ready to talk, and sometimes talk is expensive."
Word
of the U.S.-Taliban talks had raised hopes that Karzai's government and
the Taliban might enter their first-ever direct negotiations on
Afghanistan's future, with Washington acting as a broker and
Pakistan as a major outside player.
The
Taliban has until now refused talks with Kabul, calling Karzai and his
government puppets of the West. But a senior Afghan official said
earlier the Taliban was now willing to consider talks with the
government.
PRISONER SWAP
In
its talks with the U.S. officials, the Taliban was expected to demand
the return of former senior commanders now detained at the U.S. military
prison at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, a move opposed by many in the U.S. Congress, as well as the departure of all foreign troops.
The
United States wants the return of the only known U.S. prisoner of war
from the conflict, Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who is believed to be held by
the Taliban.
The protocol dispute
burst into the open on Wednesday when Afghan President Hamid Karzai
said his government would not join U.S. talks with the Taliban and would
halt negotiations with Washington on a post-2014 troop pact.
Officials
from Karzai's government, angered by the official-sounding name the
Taliban chose for its political office in Doha, said the United States
had violated assurances it would not give official status to the
insurgents.
Afghan government
officials objected to the impression that the insurgents had achieved
some level of international political recognition and could use it as an
official embassy or even as a base for a government-in-exile.
"As
long as the peace process is not Afghan-led, the High Peace Council
will not participate in the talks in Qatar," Karzai said in a statement,
referring to a body he set up in 2010 to seek a negotiated peace with
the Taliban.
VOID OF TRUST
A
statement on Qatar's foreign ministry website late on Wednesday
clarified that the office which opened was called the "Political Bureau
for Afghan Taliban in Doha".
The
source familiar with the matter said: "The Taliban have to understand
that this office isn't an embassy and they are not representing a
country."
The dispute over the
Taliban office after months of behind-the-scenes diplomacy to restart
the peace talks underscored what U.S. officials say is a void of trust
between Karzai and the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency to
overthrow his government and oust foreign troops.
Fighting
continued in the war-ravaged nation. Four U.S. soldiers were killed in a
rocket attack on the heavily fortified Bagram base near Kabul late on
Tuesday, international military officials said.
U.S.
and Afghan officials said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with
Karzai on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning in an effort to
defuse the controversy.
Underlining
the importance of the process to the United States, the State
Department said Kerry would travel to Doha for meetings with senior
Qatari officials on Friday and Saturday. But U.S. officials said he
would not meet with Taliban representatives.
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