The United States does not need any third country to facilitate its engagement with the Taliban, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said.
“To be honest, we do not need a third country to facilitate communication with the Taliban,” he said in an interview with Voice of America Urdu when asked about what different Pakistan can do for successful negotiations between the US and the incumbent rulers of Afghanistan this time.
“I am in regular contact with the Taliban and so are my colleagues and members of the US government. And I think the dialogue needs to be direct,” said West, who in a recent interview with the US Institute of Peace claimed that the situation could have been different if Islamabad had listened to Washington.
The US envoy made it clear that his administration after the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 that they have reorganised their capabilities in the region in order to ensure that terrorists never threaten the US or its allies.
“We need to continue diplomacy to ensure that … the Taliban …fulfil … (their) terrorism commitments (and) uphold the rights of Afghans which they are not doing across the board,” he said, “I think we need to ensure that those other countries – that share a border … common languages, cultures and traditions – do this work in a complementary fashion.”
He further highlighted the “incredibly important and credible role” of the entire Muslim world in engaging with the Afghans – “with the Afghan women, with the Ulema as well as with the Taliban” – to persuade the militants to fulfil their commitments.
West ruled out a possibility of a partnership with the Taliban on the operational stage in the fight against al Qaeda. “I think they have clarified that it’s their fight and they will fulfil their promises made in the Doha agreement so that it is made sure that terrorists do not target the US or its allies.”
The US envoy was in Pakistan a few weeks ago where he had detailed discussions on bilateral interests related to Afghanistan with both security and civilian leadership in Islamabad.
The increased number of terrorist activities in Pakistan after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan was among the points of discussion in every meeting, he responded in reply to a query.
“We had discussions with the state minister for foreign affairs [Hina Rabbani Khar on these challenges which they are facing on borders. This is not a new challenge. But you are right that we have seen an increased number of TTP attacks over the last years against Pakistan and this is a concern,” said West, who described Pakistan as an important US partner.
He called for a political dialogue between the Taliban and Afghans that represent the country’s diversity. “But I think this dialogue needs to be more serious and organized and this cannot be enforced on them by foreign forces.”
“I have nothing more to say on that question for you,” he said when asked about US President Joe Biden’s recent statement on the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
