Taliban Claims Pakistan Pressured the Group to Negotiate with Kabul

Taliban officials say that Pakistan has detained one of the group's senior leaders in Pakistan to force the Taliban to negotiate with the Afghan government. The Taliban has so far refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, considering it a 'puppet' of foreign powers. The United States and Pakistan are calling for negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government, but according to Reuters, a senior Taliban official, who wished to remain anonymous, stated on Wednesday that 'Iran and Qatar support the Taliban's policies.' According to Reuters, last weekend, Hafiz Mohibullah, a senior Taliban commander closely involved in peace talks with the Americans, was arrested in Peshawar, Pakistan, but was later released. The Taliban official told Reuters that after Mohibullah's arrest, Pakistani agents raided many Taliban members' homes across the country and even entered the houses of their friends. The Taliban confirmed Mohibullah's release on Wednesday, and Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, stated that he is in good health. This arrest occurred after talks between the Taliban and Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative, hit a deadlock, with the Taliban threatening to halt negotiations in a statement. Khalilzad, who arrived in Kabul on Tuesday, was supposed to meet with the Taliban representative in Qatar last week, but that meeting was canceled. Zalmay Khalilzad, an American diplomat born in Mazar-i-Sharif and former U.S. ambassador to Kabul, was appointed as the U.S. representative for Afghanistan in late summer. According to Reuters, officials in Pakistan say that the Pakistani government does not want to witness the early withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and the potential collapse of the Afghan government, and they seek to establish peace and balance between the Kabul government and the Taliban before such a scenario occurs. The report states that Pakistan is concerned that the collapse of the Afghan government could create a power vacuum and send tens of thousands of additional refugees from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The war in Afghanistan is the longest war the United States has been involved in, costing approximately one trillion dollars. In recent weeks, reports have emerged regarding Donald Trump's request for a reduction of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, there have been numerous reports of increased contacts between Iran and the Taliban, with the Taliban recently sending another delegation to Tehran.