The truth behind Taliban-HPC meeting in China
Nazar Mohammad Mutmaeen
Afghan writer and political Analyst based in Kabul
Reports on peace talks between the Taliban and HPC in the presence of Taliban, the Afghan government’s HPC, Pakistan and Chinese in China’s Urumqi City were given on May 24th, 2015.
According to my information, neither the representatives of Taliban attended China, nor such a tetra-lateral meeting between the Afghan government, the Taliban, Pakistan, and Chines is held until today.
Bilateral meetings of China and the Taliban were held before, and it was planned that another joint meeting of the Taliban and Chines would be held by the intercession of Pakistan as continuation of previous meetings in the half of May, 2015; however, this meeting was delayed due to various reasons, and it is thought that the Taliban would have rejected participation in peace talks in China where members of the HPC or the representatives of Afghan government were taking part in it, aimed at disappointing those who think Pakistan can make the Taliban initiate peace negotiations with the Afghan government.
Perhaps, those so-called Taliban (but are not their representatives) would have participated in the Urumqi’s meeting as result of the request made by Pak-Afghan governments, and the media would be broadcasting what they are told, now.
It looks Pakistan started playing with China; Taliban had several bilateral meetings with Chinese officials in China as a result of Pakistan’s intercession. Feasibly, the matter of China’s inadequate information on the Afghanistan-related issues would be benefited and ground for such kind of a meeting would be facilitated without the notification of China in order for these peace negotiations to become misused.
Also, some reports are received that the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan would had prepared a plan and agenda, and the location, date and list of the participants of the meeting, which was supposed to be held between China and the Taliban, without the notification of both sides (China and the Taliban). In recent times, Pakistan would have shared them with China; China, which is interested in Afghanistan-related peace, had called this a good improvement.
Furthermore, a question is raised that whether the representatives of Taliban in Qatar were aware of this program (tetra-lateral meeting) or there was another reason that made the Taliban to suddenly reject participation in the meeting that was going to be held in China’s Urumqi City. Taliban would have told China that a bilateral meeting would be held between us; though, Taliban, in the PUGWASH Conference, had made it clear that Qatar is a proper place for Taliban to have tetra-lateral meetings and peace-related negotiations for now.
If peace-related such esoteric attempts are continued, and then and again, unidentified personalities so-called representatives of the Taliban are invited to meetings and conferences, I think the result would be negative as it was in the past; considering these esoteric, unbeknownst and secret programs, it is obvious that intention for a truthful peace yet to be established.
Struggles for truthful peace are prevented by various furtive hands and groups in the past and now; PUGWASH Conference can be considered as a good achievement in the peace process, in addition, its participants were asking for such meetings to be continued, nevertheless, if there is not veracity from the involved sides, and a meeting is held with so-called Taliban without notification of the leadership and the political office of the Taliban, or a meeting is not held, but its news are sourced from the HPC, it clear that it would have negative impacts on achievements of the PUGWASH Conference.
The Afghan government should not disappoint its nation anymore; it should declare a clear policy on the peace process, and it should avoid making unknown policies on peace; otherwise, the time would be wasted and the trust of Afghan nation on the Afghan government’s peace process would be lost, then.
Both sides, the Taliban and the Afghan government, should share their policies related to truthful peace with the Afghan people, neighboring countries, the UN and the International Community in order to bring out the nation from mystification in the peace process.
Hoping a peaceful, self-reliant and independent Afghanistan.
