Taliban Statement: Open to Power-Sharing in Afghanistan

Comments Give Major Boost to Afghan-Pakistan Peace Talks

Taliban officials have issued a statement today suggesting a major change in policy, expressing an openness to a power-sharing deal and pledging to grant numerous rights to women that were denied under their pre-occupation government.

“We are not looking to monopolize power. We want an all-Afghan inclusive government,” noted the Taliban officials who delivered the statement ina  speech during a recent conference. Karzai government officials “welcomed” the comments but said they didn’t believe they would lead to a deal.

Yet while the Karzai government has publicly downplayed the chances of peace several times recently, they are putting a lot of effort into the process, assuming they need to make other arrangements for post-2014, when the NATO occupation will be considerably smaller.

Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Parvez Kayani is also putting quite a bit of effort into it, saying the peace deal in Afghanistan is his “top priority.” Pakistan has struggled mightily to cope with the spillover from 11+ years of the NATO war, and believes that without NATO to fight the insurgency, still concentrated along their border, will pick the Pakistani military as a next target.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.