US Offers Taliban 6 Provinces for 8 Bases

[deathfromabove]

By Aamir Latif, IOL Correspondent

ISLAMABAD – The emboldened Taliban movement in Afghanistan turned down an American offer of power-sharing in exchange for accepting the presence of foreign troops, Afghan government sources confirmed.

"US negotiators had offered the Taliban leadership through Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil (former Taliban foreign minister) that if they accept the presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan, they would be given the governorship of six provinces in the south and northeast," a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official told IslamOnline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to talk about the sensitive issue with the media.

He said the talks, brokered by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, continued for weeks at different locations including the Afghan capital Kabul.

Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, were the only states to recognize the Taliban regime which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Turkish Prime Minister Reccap Erodgan has reportedly been active in brokering talks between the two sides.

His emissaries are in contact with Hizb-e-Islami (of former prime minister Gulbadin Hikmatyar) too because he is an important factor in northeastern Afghanistan."

A Taliban spokesman admitted indirect talks with the US.

"Yes, there were some indirect talks, but they did not work," Yousaf Ahmedi, the Taliban spokesman in southern Afghanistan, told IOL from an unknown location via satellite phone.

"There are some people who are conveying each others’ (Taliban and US) messages. But there were no direct talks between us and America," he explained.

Afghan and Taliban sources said Mutawakkil and Mullah Mohammad Zaeef, a former envoy to Pakistan who had taken part in previous talks, represented the Taliban side in the recent talks.

The US Embassy in Kabul denied any such talks.

"No, we are not holding any talks with Taliban," embassy spokeswoman Cathaline Haydan told IOL from Kabul.

Asked whether the US has offered any power-sharing formula to Taliban, she said she was not aware of any such offer.

"I don't know about any specific talks and the case you are reporting is not true."

Provinces for Bases

Source say that for the first time the American negotiators did not insist on the "minus-Mullah Omer" formula, which had been the main hurdle in previous talks between the two sides.

The Americans reportedly offered Taliban a form of power-sharing in return for accepting the presence of foreign troops.

"America wants 8 army and air force bases in different parts of Afghanistan in order to tackle the possible regrouping of Al-Qaeda network," the senior official said.

He named the possible hosts of the bases as Mazar-e-Sharif and Badakshan in north, Kandahar in south, Kabul, Herat in west, Jalalabad in northeast and Ghazni and Faryab in central Afghanistan.

In exchange, the US offered Taliban the governorship of the southern provinces of Kandahar, Zabul, Hilmand and Orazgan as well as the northeastern provinces of Nooristan and Kunar.

These provinces are the epicenter of resistance against the US-led foreign forces and are considered the strongholds of Taliban.

Orazgan and Hilmand are the home provinces of Taliban Supreme Commander Mullah Omer and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"But Taliban did not agree on that," said the senior official.

"Their demand was that America must give a deadline for its pull out if it wants negotiations to go on."

 

[absarahmedkhan]

"America wants 8 army and air force bases in different parts of Afghanistan in order to tackle the possible regrouping of Al-Qaeda network," the senior official said.

He named the possible hosts of the bases as Mazar-e-Sharif and Badakshan in north, Kandahar in south, Kabul, Herat in west, Jalalabad in northeast and Ghazni and Faryab in central Afghanistan.

In exchange, the US offered Taliban the governorship of the southern provinces of Kandahar, Zabul, Hilmand and Orazgan as well as the northeastern provinces of Nooristan and Kunar.


"Their demand was that America must give a deadline for its pull out if it wants negotiations to go on."

Well, it makes no sense to me that US wants to have a sort of power-sharing formula with Talibans, and simultaneously they want to keep their presence in Afghanistan in order to fight with the al-Qaeda network. That absolutely makes no sense!!

That's a different thing if US wants to use Afghanistan's terrain for a long run so that it can uphold its army and airforce bases for other covert purposes. US-led Nato forces should vacate Afghanistan before long.

 

[deathfromabove]

US 'spending money to reach Taliban'

Washington is ready to spend a huge sum of money to start talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan, a former Pakistani lawmaker says.

Javed Ibrahim Paracha, a former member of Pakistan's National Assembly said that top US diplomats contacted him in 2005 and offered him a huge sum of money to broker the talks.

"US officials had offered me 500,000 dollars in that meeting for mediating. I refused that offer and had asked US officials to first take permission from the government and corps commanders," The Daily Times quoted Paracha, as saying.

Paracha is known for having contacts with the Taliban leadership.

The US has already planned to allocate a specific budget from its annual 680 billion dollar defense bill to the Taliban.

The bill contains a new provision that would pay the Taliban fighters who abandon their weapons.

US 'spending money to reach Taliban'

 

[waraich66]

Now US is on right track , they have to deal with Talaban on their terms and conditions and also submit their exit plan to them .

I think talaban cammanders will give few bases to US monitor Al Aqaeda activities.

Thanks to Turkey and Saudi Arabia for mediation.

 

[SMC]

Is it me or there is a high level of hypocrisy on US side here?

 

[deathfromabove]

All I can say is that at the moment US is aggressively negotiating with Taliban through back channels. Pakistan, KSA and Turkey are given the task. Recent visit by DG ISI Shuja Pasha to KSA was not an event in isolation.

 

[deathfromabove]

Hekmatyar Offers US Forces Safe Exit

KABUL – Former Afghan Prime Minister and founder of the Afghan resistance party Hizb-e-Islami, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has offered western forces a ’safe passage’ once the US announces a complete withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, alongwith NATO.

In a new video aired by a private TV channel, Hekmatyar is also said to have confirmed that Osama Bin Laden is still alive, however he did not say where he believed the Al Qaeda chief was. He also blamed the fall of the Taliban government on Al Qaeda’s misguided ideology and failed strategy, saying he did not agree with ‘murdering ten muslims to kill one of the enemy’ – in reference to indiscriminate terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan that have killed thousands of civilians.

Hekmatyar also added that Iran, India and Israel were supporting the American cause in Afghanistan despite having “problems with each other”. He condemned the suicide attacks in Pakistan and urged “those people who had launched a war against Pakistani security forces” – a thinly veiled reference to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan – that they should fight against foreign forces in Afghanistan instead.

This comes after repeated calls by Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, asking the TTP to join the Afghan Taliban in the fight against the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan instead of ‘murdering fellow muslims’ in Pakistan.

The TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) is lead by Hakimullah Mehsud and is on record for issuing statements against leaders of Kashmiri Mujahideen groups threatening to eliminate their leadership if they did not stop fighting in Kashmir and start attacking Pakistan Army instead. TTP militants also massacred 20 members of Jama’at-ud-Dawa after a Jirga in Mohmand Agency in 2008, and according to Pakistani military and intelligence officials receives arms and funds from Western and Indian intelligence agencies based inside Afghanistan.

Afghan Taliban commander expresses disassociation with TTP

KABUL: Afghan Taliban commander Abdul Mannan alias Mullah Toor has expressed disassociation with Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) and said Afghan Taliban have no connection with outlawed Tahreek-e-Taliban.

In an interview, Mullah Toor said targeting innocent people in suicide attacks and blasts is wrong. Al Qaeda has no influence on Tahreek-e-Taliban and Afghan Taliban target only Americans and Nato forces.

Afghan Taliban commander expresses disassociation with TTP - GEO.tv

 

[Ahmad]

Afghan Taliban commander expresses disassociation with TTP

KABUL: Afghan Taliban commander Abdul Mannan alias Mullah Toor has expressed disassociation with Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) and said Afghan Taliban have no connection with outlawed Tahreek-e-Taliban.

In an interview, Mullah Toor said targeting innocent people in suicide attacks and blasts is wrong.

as if afghanai taliban do not kill the innocent people.

 

[paritosh]

if it is indeed true...then the US's credibility is at stake...and I don't think they'd get any backing from us in this 'deal' of theirs...

 

[forcetrip]

What happened to the "we dont negotiate with terrorists". I guess it works "we dont negotiate with terrorist TILL they start handing us our very expensive *** in a 34 cent platter"

 

[Ahmad]

What happened to the "we dont negotiate with terrorists". I guess it works "we dont negotiate with terrorist TILL they start handing us our very expensive *** in a 34 cent platter"

that is called pragmatism, if you want to have success, you have to change your strategies according to the situation in hand, if one does not work, focuse on something else. unlike the taliban who are destroying afghanistan and killing its people and paroting the same thing. they dont have a regard to children's and other innocent people's lives.

 

[waraich66]

that is called pragmatism, if you want to have success, you have to change your strategies according to the situation in hand, if one does not work, focuse on something else. unlike the taliban who are destroying afghanistan and killing its people and paroting the same thing. they dont have a regard to children's and other innocent people's lives.

US destroyed Afghanistan by using desi cutters and tomohawk missiles etc.

Better check the figures how many civilian killed by ISAF bombing on villages.

http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=2578

 

[Spring Onion]

if it is indeed true...then the US's credibility is at stake...and I don't think they'd get any backing from us in this 'deal' of theirs...

It is true pari. As the man Amir latif who had reported it is a very very reliable and true journalist i know him.

There are many other inside news also.

US is getting into a deeper mess.

 

[S-2]

The problem here is there will be no change if the afghan taliban will not permit nor participate in electoral politics while accepting adherence to the afghan constitution.

That is the law of their land. The afghan taliban have long been welcomed to participate in the political discourse of Afghanistan and have a voice in afghan matters. They will not be permitted to dominate the discourse at the point of a gun.

That is their intent and any fair-minded soul should be able to recognize the malfeasence behind such intent.

Any afghan taliban today can put down his weapon and be welcomed back into afghan society if they are willing to adhere to the above.

Why is Omar adamant about ISAF leaving before he'll negotiate? Seems obvious, doesn't it? The afghan taliban recognize they'll achieve no military victory in Afghanistan. They NEED ISAF's departure to assure their victory.

For those here who wish such, I hope they understand that Afghanistan will become Pakistan's worst nightmare should this occur. The only hope Pakistan has of long-term peace is with a stabilized Afghanistan that is fully committed to peaceful reconciliation and electoral non-interference.

Afghanistan is a long way from that. Under the domination of the afghan taliban, Afghanistan will NEVER even approach such and will, instead, bleed Pakistan dry.

 

[The Patriot]

The problem here is there will be no change if the afghan taliban will not permit nor participate in electoral politics while accepting adherence to the afghan constitution.

That is the law of their land. The afghan taliban have long been welcomed to participate in the political discourse of Afghanistan and have a voice in afghan matters. They will not be permitted to dominate the discourse at the point of a gun.

That is their intent and any fair-minded soul should be able to recognize the malfeasence behind such intent.

Any afghan taliban today can put down his weapon and be welcomed back into afghan society if they are willing to adhere to the above.

Why is Omar adamant about ISAF leaving before he'll negotiate? Seems obvious, doesn't it? The afghan taliban recognize they'll achieve no military victory in Afghanistan. They NEED ISAF's departure to assure their victory.

For those here who wish such, I hope they understand that Afghanistan will become Pakistan's worst nightmare should this occur. The only hope Pakistan has of long-term peace is with a stabilized Afghanistan that is fully committed to peaceful reconciliation and electoral non-interference.

Afghanistan is a long way from that. Under the domination of the afghan taliban, Afghanistan will NEVER even approach such and will, instead, bleed Pakistan dry.

Nicely explained but i would like to share my thoughts here. Taliban once ruled almost 90 per cent of Afghanistan and they were sure to take the rest of it too. they enjoyed absolute power. it seems less likely that they will compromise on something less than that. they had tasted the power and they will try to reclaim it. their ideology is not in sync with electoral process. they do not believe in democracy. they believe in theocratic authoritarian regime. and they also know the result of election where i am pretty sure majority of the people will not vote for them. they would not like to be a weaker party in the new political set up.