(ATN News): Abdullah Abdullah, Head of the High Council for National Reconciliation said Friday that no progress has been made in the Doha intra-Afghan talks.
Addressing the Herat Security Dialogue, Abdullah stated that so far, no decision has been made to return the government’s negotiating delegation from Doha. He noted that the Taliban’s calculation about using the “increasing violence” to gain concessions in the peace negotiation is “a mistake.” “No progress has been made. What is the solution today? Shall we ask the delegation to return and tell them (delegates) your presence [in Doha] is no longer necessary because you have not reached a conclusion,” Abdullah said. Abdullah added that spiking violence by the Taliban means the continuation of conflict in the war-weary country. “The government should not ignore security challenges while engaging in small (less important) issues.” Meanwhile, Former Donald Trumps’ National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster also believes that the US-Taliban deal has put Afghanistan in a bad situation. McMaster stated that Iran and Pakistan at least should not play a destructive role in the Afghan peace process and “UAE, Saudi Arabia even China should not continue support to the Taliban.” This comes as First Vice President, Amrullah Saleh, in the same meeting stated that the Afghan government did not recognize the US-Taliban deal which was signed late in February in Doha. “We did not welcome the deal. We did not approve of the deal. We just said that we noted the Doha deal. The deal will be imposed on us if we used a strong term,” said Saleh. “ None of the Taliban commanders know about the Doha deal. They (Taliban commander) say that they are ordered to increase violence and attack cities,” he added.