Preliminary Talks Toward a New Government in Afghanistan Get Underway

Aug. 21, 2021 (EIRNS)—There are reports that today in Kabul, talks took place towards the process of forming a new government. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban political wing, arrived today in Kabul. In recent days he has had important strategic meetings, including in Beijing. Preliminary media reports say that he met with former President Hamid Karzai, and with Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation.

An unnamed Taliban official told Reuters today that the group planned to ready a new model for governing Afghanistan within the next few weeks. The new framework for governing the country would not be a democracy by Western definition but “It will protect everyone’s rights,” the official added. “Legal, religious and foreign policy experts in the Taliban aim to present the new governing framework in the next few weeks,” he said.

The Taliban are also saying that they have no intention of forming an interim government, instead aiming for a permanent government from the outset. Senior Taliban member Mullah Ahmadullah Wasiq reportedly told the BBC that the slowness in filling the political vacuum in Afghanistan is their intention for creating an inclusive government that is acceptable by all parties in Afghanistan. A council that includes former President Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah, and the head of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are all involved in those discussions.

Hekmatyar had earlier told TOLOnews that formal talks between the Afghan political leaders and the Taliban will start once the Taliban leaders arrive in Kabul. He said the recent meetings were informal meetings and that there are indications that the Taliban wants to establish an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

At the same time, the resistance operation centered on the Panjshir Valley claims to have taken control of three districts in Baghlan province, roughly 130 km to the northwest of Panjshir. Local residents have also claimed to have killed 40 Taliban fighters and wounded 15 more. The Taliban have not commented on the conflict yet, reports Khaama Press.