Not desperate for talks with Taliban, says US official

WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): The Trump administration says it desires progress in the Afghan-led peace process, but is not desperate for direct negotiations with the Taliban.

“We don't have the timelines for withdrawal like the previous administration. This administration been clear that our strategy is driven by conditions on the ground,” a senior administration official said.

The Ghani government, the official added, had shown he was serious and willing to engage the Taliban. “If there is no response, then we have to explore other ways to deny the Taliban the ability to achieve a military victory.

“If there are Taliban who are interested in coming to an accommodation with the Afghan government, there will be a path towards that. You can look at the history of the Hezb-i-Islami track and what has happened and that's been quite successful.”

The Afghan government had shown it could, and was willing to, find a way to accommodate people who were willing to give up violence and become part of the process, the official continued.

He ruled out changing the South Asia strategy at this point in time. “We need to give the strategy a little bit more time. We have seen some signs that we're moving in the right direction. We eroded the Taliban's ability to achieve on the battlefield what they hope to achieve last year. We will do the same this year.

“But I don't think we can judge the efficacy of the strategy right now. It deserves more time. We're constantly evaluating the policy, and doing adjustments here or there. So I don't want to give the impression that it's a completely static process...

“I think we need to allow this strategy some more time to see what is possible,” the official said. “How much more time?” he was asked.

“I can't give a definitive time, but we should at least a few more months, maybe a year (from the announcement of the strategy) would be a good time for a full assessment of the strategy. We are constantly evaluating our diplomatic, regional and military approaches.”

Calling the South Asia policy is a comprehensive strategy he said the military had been given a free hand to meet the challenge posed by the terrorists. There was also a clear US interest in the political track, he explained.

“We would be pursuing any track we can to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan. All cards are on the table, but we'll be working closely with the legitimate Afghan government in moving forward,” the official said.

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