{"id":21457,"date":"2017-08-30T14:21:02","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T14:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/30\/afghan-officials-said-to-talk-nearly-every-day-with-taliban\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:17:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:17:17","slug":"afghan-officials-said-to-talk-nearly-every-day-with-taliban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/30\/afghan-officials-said-to-talk-nearly-every-day-with-taliban\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghan officials said to talk nearly every day with Taliban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISLAMABAD \u2014 Despite seemingly stalled peace talks between Afghanistan\u2019s government and the Taliban, officials say the intelligence chief speaks by telephone with militant leaders nearly every day about the country\u2019s constitution and political future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, Afghanistan\u2019s national security adviser has conversations with the Taliban every other month, officials familiar with the efforts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Associated Press has seen documents describing the conversations between the Afghan officials and the Taliban leadership in both Pakistan and the Gulf state of Qatar, where they maintain an office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Afghan officials said neither side was ready to agree to public peace talks, the documents revealed details of the issues discussed, including the Taliban\u2019s apparent willingness to accept Afghanistan\u2019s constitution and future elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A senior Afghan security official, who had taken notes on the details of talks, rifled through a black leather-bound book until he came to a list he called \u201cTaliban talking points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Afghan security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said the Taliban wanted certain amendments to the constitution \u2014 although not immediately. They also envisioned an Islamic system of governance in Afghanistan, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the Taliban\u2019s demands, according to the official:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>They accepted education for boys and girls at all levels, but wanted segregation by gender.<\/li><li>Women could be employed in all fields, including defense and the judiciary, and they could serve as judges at all levels except the Supreme Court. However, the Taliban wanted constitutional guarantees that a woman could not be president.<br><\/li><li>Special courts should be established to oversee thousands of cases that allege land was taken illegally by the rich and powerful in the post-Taliban era. Many of the land owners are former warlords who are now in the government. The Taliban wants the land returned to those from whom it was taken.<br><\/li><li>Elections could be held after an interim government is established, with no one affiliated with past governments allowed to serve in the interim administration. The Taliban said all sides could keep areas currently under their control until voting is held.<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Afghanistan\u2019s Intelligence agency had no comment about the contacts with the Taliban. Officials familiar with the conversations said intelligence chief Masoum Stanikzai has near daily telephone conversations with Taliban leader Abbas Stanikzai, who is not related to him. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">National Security adviser Mohammed Haneef Atmar\u2019s office refused requests to comment on reports of his contacts with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am confident that these are sincere terms from the Taliban \u2014 with the qualification, of course, that in the areas they control they will determine the outcome of the elections \u2014 because I have heard variants of them put forward by a range of people from or close to the Taliban,\u201d said Anatol Lieven, professor at Georgetown University\u2019s campus in Qatar and the author of \u201cPakistan: A Hard Country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the path to substantive and public peace negotiations is difficult, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=efd047c2-061e-42d4-b7ff-35805669fb6b\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Arming Afghanistan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cApart from anything else, it is difficult to imagine the existing elites (in Kabul) surrendering power and patronage to a neutral government, let alone one that in future would inevitably have to include the Taliban,\u201d Lieven said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Taliban came to power in 1996 after pushing aside the U.S.-backed mujahedeen fighters who defeated Afghanistan\u2019s Communist government. The mujahedeen then turned their weapons on each other, killing thousands of civilians and destroying entire neighborhoods in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Their rule also was marked by widespread corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the Taliban, officials imposed a repressive interpretation of Islam that denied education to girls, drove women from the workforce and established harsh punishments like public executions and flogging similar to those carried out in Saudi Arabia. The only countries to recognize the Taliban government were Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After harboring militants from al-Qaida who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, a U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban from power, but the militants have waged an insurgency against the Afghan government since then. The U.S. and NATO have sent thousands of troops to the country in the past 16 years to help the Afghan military fight the Taliban and other militant groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2017\/08\/24\/additional-us-aircraft-forces-headed-to-afghanistan-top-commander-says\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635993635399634554-gettyimages-522213762jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Additional US aircraft, forces headed to Afghanistan, top commander says<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The additional forces will result in U.S. troops working with Afghans &quot;at the tactical level&quot; to help them fight the Taliban, a senior administration official said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new strategy in Afghanistan and South Asia. He said American troops would \u201cfight to win\u201d by attacking enemies, \u201ccrushing\u201d al-Qaida, preventing terrorist attacks against Americans and \u201cobliterating\u201d the Islamic State group, whose affiliate has gained a foothold in Afghanistan as the U.S. squeezes the extremists in Syria and Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But his definition of a win in Afghanistan notably did not include defeating the Taliban. \u201cSomeday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/opinion\/editorials\/2017\/08\/28\/editorial-will-trumps-afghanistan-strategy-actually-make-a-difference\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635835345240438817-gettyimages-iedjpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">EDITORIAL: Will Trump\u2019s Afghanistan strategy actually make a difference?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">It\u2019s still hard to see how Trump\u2019s plan for ending America\u2019s longest war is substantially different than the one Obama rolled out in 2009.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Trump insisted he would not talk about numbers of troops, he hinted he would embraced the Pentagon\u2019s proposal to boost troop numbers by nearly 4,000, augmenting the roughly 8,400 Americans there now<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lieven said he was hopeful that U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster could use the increase authorized by Trump as well as the threat of an increased presence by India \u201cas a way to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table,\u201d using their own talking points as a start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Taliban told AP they were not interested in talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A member of the Afghan government\u2019s High Peace Council, Abdul Hakim Mujahed, who also served as the Taliban\u2019s representative at the United Nations during their rule, said there is deep mistrust on both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mujahed said it is also unlikely the Taliban will enter talks without a guarantee of an eventual troop withdrawal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey have moved away from demanding immediate withdrawal but they want a discussion with the Americans on a timetable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite seemingly stalled peace talks between Afghanistan\u2019s government and the Taliban, officials say the intelligence chief speaks by telephone with militant leaders nearly every day about the country\u2019s constitution and political 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