The war in Afghanistan will end in a matter of weeks if Pakistan denies safe haven to the Taliban, US Senator Lindsey Graham said on Monday.
While the US is holding talks with the Taliban, Graham said that it should start negotiating with Pakistan.
“As to negotiating with the Taliban, I think we got this wrong. I think what we should do is start negotiating with Pakistan. If Pakistan denied the Taliban safe haven in Pakistan, the war in Afghanistan would end in a matter of weeks,” Graham told Fox news in an interview.
US resumed talks with the Taliban in Qatar on Saturday, two months after President Donald Trump halted the process, citing a deadly attack in Kabul.
Graham said that he wants to change Pakistan’s behavior.
“So, I want to try to get Pakistan to change their behavior through a free trade agreement tied to security performances, then talk to the Taliban. I want as much leverage over the Taliban as possible to end this war,” Graham said.
This comes as sources close to the Doha talks said the United States and the Taliban negotiators—on their third day of negotiations–have yet to agree on the terms of a reduction of violence, ceasefire and intra-Afghan negotiations.
Sources said the Taliban consider agreement on a ceasefire a premature decision and that they have only agreed on signing the agreement with the US. Also, the sources said that based on this agreement, if signed, the Taliban will agree not to attack US bases within a distance of 10 kilometers.
The talks began on December 7 and are being carried out behind closed doors.
“The Taliban are insisting on an Islamic government and they are not negotiating with the government of Afghanistan–as a government–and they are not ready to announce a ceasefire at this stage,” freelance journalist Sami Yousufzai said.
A government official said the two sides will discuss a reduction of violence, a ceasefire and an intra-Afghan negotiation in order to reach agreement on a peace deal.
Sources close to the Taliban said they hope the talks will yield a result.
“The agreement is almost final. Only a few issues remain that the two sides are discussing and ceasefire is one of them,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander. “Let’s see if there will be an agreement on the reduction of violence, ceasefire and intra-Afghan negotiations,” he said.
A spokesman for Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah’s Office Mujib Rahman Rahimi said Kabul and Washington have coordinated on the peace talks.
“The reduction of violence, agreeing to a ceasefire, forming an inclusive delegation for negotiations and starting intra-Afghan negotiations are the common demands of us and our allies,” Rahimi said.
