Washington: US President Donald Trump has cancelled the Afghan Peace talks with the Taliban saying he doubted their bonafides to negotiate a meaningful settlement. Trump also disclosed that major Taliban leaders were actually headed to the United States for a secret meeting with him at Camp David. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was also coming separately. But a terrorist attack last week changed everything, he said.
“They were coming to the United States. Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great great soldiers, and 11 other people. I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations. What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position? They didn’t, they only made it worse!” Trump tweeted “If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway. How many more decades are they willing to fight?” he added.
It was not clear why Trump thought the Taliban, which is nurtured and patronized by Pakistan, would stop its terrorist attacks since it has never ceased such depredations during the length of its negotiations with the US. Typically, ISI sponsored terrorists believe in physically eliminating all opposition, as their proxies have done in Kashmir since the 1980s, to gain leverage and absolute control.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “We had a commitment from the Taliban that said they would break from al-Qaida publicly and permanently. We had a commitment from them that said they would reduce violence. We had a commitment that they would meet in Oslo to begin reconciliation conversation, and then the Taliban overreached.” Pompeo explained, adding,“They killed an American in an effort to gain leverage at the negotiating table, and President Trump said enough.”
India says regional stability to remain
All Central Asian countries, except Pakistan, have breathed a sigh of relief after Trump's announcement of the cancellation of peace talks . India, which had been virtually out in the cold in the talks, sees more regional stability in the loss of the deal. India’s decision to scrap Article 370 in J&K was triggered by prospects of regional instability once the Pakistan-Taliban-US deal came into being.
