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THE AFGHAN government said yesterday it would not negotiate with the Taliban separately from other “armed opposition” groups, casting further doubt on a nascent peace process
A statement by President Ashraf Ghani’s office said Kabul would not accept any “parallel political structure” opposed to the government, a clear reference to the Taliban, which calls itself the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
Initial peace talks were postponed indefinitely last week after Kabul said that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar had died in a Pakistani hospital in 2013.
The Taliban confirmed Mullah Omar’s death, without saying when it had occurred, and named Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor as his replacement.
But the guerilla army cryptically claimed they knew nothing about the latest round of talks in Pakistan, which are being observed by China and the US.
Rumours of a split in the Taliban over Mulla Mansoor’s appointment circulated yesterday, although their source was unclear.
