Kabul wants Quadrilateral Coordination Group to label Taliban 'irreconcilable'

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Afghan ambassador in Islamabad, Omar Zakhilwal, has said that Kabul wants the Taliban to be declared 'irreconcilable' as they have publicly refused to engage in talks.

"We expect the QCG meeting to agree on implementation of the roadmap the group had agreed upon in its meeting on February 6," the Express Tribune quoted him, as saying while referring to the quartet call for the Taliban to shun violence and join direct talks by the first week of March.

"The roadmap is precisely about the steps the QCG members were to take in their respective domains both during peace talks, if they commenced, as well as if the Taliban refused to join talks. Now since the Taliban have publicly refused to join talks and opted for more violence the second scenario is applicable," he added.

Zakhilwal's comments comes ahead of a key meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) which has been pushing for a political solution towards insurgency in the country.

"They must be declared 'irreconcilable' and action taken against them as was agreed in the roadmap," he said.

The quartet, made up of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the United States, is scheduled to meet on May 18 in Islamabad, reports the Express Tribune.

Special envoys of the four countries are likely to attend the meeting, according to reports.

Afghanistan at present is still debating on whether or not Kabul should take part in the meeting as some government officials have little hope from the quartet process.

The Quadrilateral Coordination Group efforts received a serious blow after the insurgent group refused to engage in 'direct talks' with Afghan government officials and instead announced its annual 'spring offensive'.

Ambassador Zakhiwal had travelled to Kabul following his meeting with Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif where they agreed to reopen the Torkham border crossing.

On being asked if Kabul still wanted to pursue dialogue, Zakhilwal said that his country had never shut doors on peace negotiation.

Zakhilwal pressed that he still believed Islamabad could play an important and constructive role in support of peace in Afghanistan.

"I also believe Pakistan's civilian and military leadership genuinely desires to move forward in that direction, and hope that institutions downward are in line with that thinking and supportive of those positions," he said.