Kabul, January 26: McChrystal said that political negotiations with leaders of the Taliban could help foster security and stability in conflict-plagued Afghanistan.
“I think that [negotiation] is in the purview of the government of Afghanistan to do, but I believe that a political solution to all conflicts is the inevitable outcome. And it’s the right outcome. I think that the re-integration of fighters can take a lot of the energy out of the current levels of the insurgency. Then I think you open up the option, the possibility, for everybody to look at what’s the right combination of participation in the government here.”
When asked if senior Taliban leaders might eventually become government leaders in Kabul, McChrystal said, “I think that anybody who dedicates themselves to the future and not the past, and anybody whose future is focused on the right kinds of things for Afghanistan might participate in government.”
The remarks come as UN special envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide has also called on Afghan officials to seek the removal of at least some senior Taliban leaders from the United Nations’ list of terrorists, as a first step toward opening direct negotiations with the militant group.
“If you want relevant results, then you have to talk to the relevant person in authority,” Eide said, adding that he believes the time has come to do it.
The United Nations’ so-called black list contains the names of 144 Taliban leaders, including the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.
Under United Nations Resolution 1267, governments are obliged to freeze the bank accounts of those on the list and prevent them from traveling.
Some Taliban leaders say the black list has prevented them from entering into negotiations because they would be arrested if they showed their faces.
The move to reconcile with Taliban after eight years of a bitter US-led conflict in the war-ravaged nation has been described as a defeat for Washington and the Afghan government.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States invaded Afghanistan to allegedly kill or capture al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and root out militancy in the country.
The US and its allies would participate at a conference in London on Thursday to discuss the Afghan war.
–Agencies