May 10 (The Killid Group) — In an exclusive interview with an Indian news agency, Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the political office of the Taliban movement in Qatar, said the group would like to have a positive relationship with countries in the region, including India, and welcomed India’s contribution in reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Suhail Shaheen’s remarks in the interview comes days after the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad in an interview with the The Hindu newspaper said that India should discuss its concerns on terrorism directly with the Taliban, calling these talks important for addressing its concerns.
A number of political analysts, however, believe that neighboring countries play a key role in bringing peace and reconciliation to Afghanistan, and thus, without their cooperation in the process, securing peace in Afghanistan will more likely be impossible.
Nasrullah Falak, a political analyst, is confident that countries in the region have been using Afghanistan as a battlefield for their proxy wars, and pursue their interests in continued war in the country.
Farid Sailani, another political commentator, argues that to maintain its [legitimate] interests in Afghanistan reconciliation process, India would like to cooperate, and hence, Afghanistan should seize this opportunity.
Zalmay Khalilzad earlier on May 05 departed for travel to Doha, and left there for New Delhi, and Islamabad as an attempt to move the Afghan peace process forward and in addition to discuss the necessity of reduction in violence.
In Doha, he met the Taliban chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to discuss a full implementation of the February’s agreement reached between the United States and the group. He expressed hope for the start of the intra-Afghan peace negotiations and a comprehensive ceasefire.
This is the first time the United States has urged the Indian government to directly discuss its concerns upon terrorism with the insurgents group.
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