Taliban repeats call for direct talks with US

The Taliban has renewed its call for direct negotiations with the United States, arguing that the presence of US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan remains the central cause of the country’s prolonged conflict.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Taliban leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada said the group believed the only way to end the conflict was to bring the foreign military presence in Afghanistan to an end.

The Taliban leader called for dialogue and a political solution instead of continued military action, saying the group wanted an approach that could lead to an end to the long-running war.

“Since the ongoing war in Afghanistan is the birth-child of US occupation, therefore we have and continue to insist on direct talks with Washington to bring it to an end,” the statement said.

The renewed appeal came as the Taliban continued to reject repeated offers from the Afghan government for direct peace negotiations. The militant group has maintained that Washington, rather than Kabul, is the key party responsible for the continued conflict and therefore should be directly involved in efforts to resolve it.

The Taliban’s position reflected the group’s longstanding demand for the withdrawal of foreign forces before it would consider a broader political settlement.

The statement also came against the backdrop of years of fighting between Taliban militants, Afghan security forces and international troops. The conflict had caused widespread insecurity and placed further pressure on efforts to establish lasting political stability in Afghanistan.

The renewed call for talks was significant because direct US-Taliban negotiations could potentially open a separate channel for addressing the foreign military presence, even as efforts by the Afghan government to bring the Taliban into a wider peace process continued to face resistance.

For Afghanistan, any meaningful dialogue between Washington and the Taliban would have far-reaching implications, particularly for the future of foreign troop deployments, Afghan security and the prospects of ending the country’s prolonged conflict.