Report on Taliban presenting peace plan exaggerated

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Taliban rejected Reuter’s report that claimed the Taliban will present a written peace plane within a month to Afghan government citing the group’s spokesperson.

The Taliban did not reject their peace plan but added when talks reached to its main content then the groups will disclose its peace plan. It is surprising that the Taliban are engaged in peace talks from the past 10 months but they are still without peace plane.

Claim: Afghan government and the Taliban launched negotiations nearly one year back in Doha but both sides only agreed to procedural rules and then talks faced with stalemate.

According to Reuters report The Taliban plan to present a written peace proposal to the Afghan government side as soon as next month, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgents said even as they make major territorial gains in the breach left by departing foreign forces.

“The peace talks and process will be accelerated in the coming days … and they are expected to enter an important stage, naturally it will be about peace plans,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters on Monday.

“Possibly it will take a month to reach that stage when both sides will share their written peace plan,” he said, adding that the latest round of talks were at a critical juncture.

The development comes that on Monday Kabul News on its twitter wrote Afghan government and the Taliban negotiating teams have held discussion in Doha over Afghanistan constitutions.

The private television did not say anything about Reuters report but added: “In Doha the Taliban spokesperson said they could not disclose salient features of their discussion in the media due to their mutual agreement, but Afghan negotiating team members said meetings between both sides have started and efforts are on that these meeting will take us to durable peace.”

Fact Check:

Taliban Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Pajhwok Afghan News: “We told Reuters that negotiating teams are in touch currently and it is hoped that these contacts will increase in the future. The fact that we have created a peace plan or we present it to the government is reported incorrectly. We told them that we have a peace plan when talks reached to its main content then we will discuss it.”

The Taliban Qatar Office Spokesperson Dr. Mohammad Naeem said: baseless information disseminating in the media that Islamic Emirate has prepared a peace plan and it will be handed over to Kabul administration in coming month. There is nothing of that kind.”

State Ministry for Peace Affairs Spokesperson Najia Anwari while referring to Reuters report said: “Ask the Taliban in this regard we don’t have explanation to offer in this regard.”

She said Afghan negotiating team strived to accelerate peace talks so it could reach a logical conclusion.

The development comes a time when the Taliban have captured over 150 districts in different provinces from the past two months. US forces have left its military epicenter Bagram Airbase on July 2 as well and all foreign forces will leave Afghanistan by September 11.

Outcome: Taliban rejected Reuter’s report of presenting a peace plan to Afghan government in a month and said they have peace plane but will be present when peace talks reached its crucial stage.

Verdict: Taliban presenting peace plan is an exaggerated claim

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Ahmad Sohaib Hasrat

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