Kerry holds up Afghan deal with warlord as model for Taliban

But the Taliban, Kerry said, is still “trying to test the Afghan government’s resolve.” He condemned an attack last month on the American University of Afghanistan, saying any movement that targets youth “has no legitimacy whatsoever to claim to lead the country’s future.”

“There is a path toward an honourable end to the conflict that the Taliban have waged,” Kerry insisted. “It is a conflict they cannot and will not be won on the battlefield. A political settlement negotiated with the Afghan government is the only way to end the fighting, ensure lasting stability and achieve a full drawdown ultimately of international military forces, which is their goal.”

The United States has been promoting reconciliation as part of its strategy to remove American troops from Afghanistan. But efforts have shown little momentum, beset by divisions within Afghanistan’s government and the Taliban. President Barack Obama has ordered 8,400 U.S. forces to remain in the country though 2017, unable to fulfil his promise to end America’s involvement in the war.

Hekmatyar had lived for the last two decades in exile. He is widely disliked and distrusted by ordinary Afghans for his past extremism, including support for al-Qaida. Human Right Watch has branded him “one of Afghanistan’s most notorious war crimes suspects” and said his return would “compound a culture of impunity” that has denied justice to the many Afghan victims of violence. Under the peace agreement, Hekmatyar and his followers received immunity and full political rights.

Afghanistan has been mired in conflict for decades. The U.S.-led intervention after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks sent billions of dollars into the country, creating a false economy with double-digit growth. The economy tumbled as troops drew down in 2014 and many aid workers and international agencies departed or scaled back operations.

Unemployment may be as high as 50 per cent. Insecurity throughout much of the country has deterred investment and driven many Afghans to Europe as migrants.

At the Brussels conference, Western countries were expected to pledge more than $3 billion in development aid through 2020.

Bradley Klapper, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Kerry holds up Afghan deal with warlord as model for Taliban

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