US says violence levels in Afghanistan 'too high' amid peace talks stalemate

As the Afghan peace process faces stalemate, the Special US Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation said that the level of violation is unacceptably high with the possibility of further setbacks during talks. The spotlight from the peace talks has faded after the lavish opening ceremony on September 12 as the Afghan government and the Taliban continue to disagree on even basic issues.

“By any measure, current levels of violence are too high,” special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told a Congressional hearing.

The intra-Afghan negotiations kicked off in Doha under the chairmanship of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While the Taliban has pledged to respect women’s rights, reports suggest that many of the educated women remain sceptical. Democrats asked Khalilzad whether the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan under the peace deal could end education for Afghan girls.

“I want to assure the Afghan women that we will be with them,” the special envoy said.

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During the opening ceremony, the head of Afghanistan’s peace council, Abdullah Abdullah, had thanked the Taliban for showing “willingness to negotiate” to end 19 years of war. The Afghan government's top negotiator said they could strike a peace deal to put an end to the decades of conflict if warring parties come together.

“While we have reasons to be hopeful, we are under no illusions about the challenges ahead. ... We expect that there will be setbacks and obstacles,” Khalilzad told the House.

Questions over prisoners' release

Ahead of the peace talks, Khalilzad told a press briefing that the people of Afghanistan demand an end to the war and the United States support them in that effort. The US media questioned the Afghan government’s decision, under the peace deal, to release prisoners convicted of deadly attacks on international troops. Citing the joint statement, Khalilzad said that difficult decisions had to be made as a confidence-building measure in order to achieve a great objective.

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