Kunar Governor Believes Ceasefire Should Precede Any Kabul-Taliban Direct Talks

Kunar Governor Believes Ceasefire Should Precede Any Kabul-Taliban Direct Talks

Only ceasefire can open the way for directs talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, Abdul Satar Mirzakwal, the governor of the northeastern province of Kunar, told Sputnik in an interview

KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2020) Only ceasefire can open the way for directs talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, Abdul Satar Mirzakwal, the governor of the northeastern province of Kunar, told Sputnik in an interview.

On Sunday, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Qatar for a new round of peace talks with the Taliban. Over recent months, the dialogue has been put on hold twice in September and December in the wake of Taliban's attacks. Media, meanwhile, reported that the Taliban had rejected the US' demand for a ceasefire to be announced before signing a peace deal.

"In talks between the Taliban and the United States without the clear and strong role of the Afghan government ... neither ceasefire nor peace can be established, so my personal idea is to start a pre-negotiation ceasefire ... and directly start talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban after the ceasefire," Mirzakwal said.

In his interview, the governor also dwelt on the level of terrorist threat in the province. Last week, the provincial police chief notably told Sputnik that the security situation in the area had improved, while the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, or ISIS, banned in Russia) had lost its main strongholds there. He, however, added that the remaining militants were yet to be eliminated.

"In relation to ISIS, we are also really concerned, ISIS still has presence in some mountainous areas of Kunar (such as Diwa Gul Dara, Badel Dara, Mazar Dara, Chapa Dara, Shurik Dara; via this route they are moving to the Chalas area and have presence there)," the governor stated.

Mirzakwal said, citing intelligence reports, that around 1,200 ISIS militants, including citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Central Asian and Arab countries, were still present in Kunar. The group is also seeking to capitalize on the province's natural resources such as woods.

"We still have reports that ISIS militants are cutting forests for their own expense and selling them ... We stopped the routes to prevent such sales but there are some ways in mountains from where they are smuggling woods out," Mirzakwal added.

The group therefore remains "under watch" and will be eliminated, according to the governor, as it was in case with the neighboring Nangarhar province, which announced the IS defeat back in November.

Along with the IS and Taliban, the governor went on, the province is also home to another terrorist group, Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (banned in Russia), which has also smalls cells in Dangam, Shultan and Sirkanay districts of Kunar.

According to Mirzakwal, Lashkar-e-Taiba is a "Pakistani ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] network," which, however, also has Afghans among its ranks.

In addition, the province at times turns into a battleground of militants from rival groups, witnessing a "war" between the Taliban and IS in the Chalas and Shurik areas in the past two or three months, the governor said.