Talks Canceled in Big Blow to Afghan Peace Push by Craig Nelson and Ehsanullah Amiri – Wall Street Journal
A landmark meeting between the Taliban and senior Afghan political figures was canceled Thursday in a row over who should participate, dealing a crushing setback to efforts to reach a negotiated settlement of the 18-year Afghan war.
“Clearly, the moment is not yet right,” tweeted Sultan Barakat, director of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in the Gulf state of Qatar, where the two days of discussions over Afghanistan’s political future were set to begin Friday.
The gathering was to have been the first time since the latest peace effort resumed in earnest last summer that Taliban and officials of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government were to be in the same room.
“There is insufficient agreement around participation and representation to enable the conference to be a success,” said Mr. Barakat, the conference organizer. He didn’t say when the meeting might be rescheduled…