The secretary of state made a short visit to Afghanistan to discuss the new US policy in South Asia. He told Afghan leaders he was open to peace with the Taliban if they accepted military defeat.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Brandon
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Monday to meet with Afghan leaders and reaffirm support for stability.
"The US has made clear ... (its) support (for) a sovereign unified Afghanistan, a democratic Afghanistan, of charting a path to peace, prosperity and self-reliance," Tillerson told reporters. "It is imperative in the end that we are denying safe haven to any terrorist organizations or any extremists to any part of this world."
Tillerson was in Afghanistan to promote Trump's new South Asia policyImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Brandon
Tillerson said the US would continue to wage war against the Taliban, but that it was willing to work with the group.
"There are, we believe, moderate voices among the Taliban, voices that do not want to continue to fight forever. They don't want their children to fight forever," Tillerson said.
"We are looking to engage with those voices and have them engage in a reconciliation process leading to a peace process and their full involvement and participation in the government."
Government positions for moderate Taliban members who renounce terrorism and violence would also be a possibility, he said.
Analysis: Trump lays out new Afghanistan strategy
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The closed-door talks also covered President Ghani's reform program, his anti-corruption strategy and preparations for parliamentary elections next year.
Tillerson, for his part, reaffirmed the US's commitment to remain until "a process of reconciliation and peace" has been secured. He noted, however, that this commitment was not "unlimited."
Endless battle for power in Afghanistan
Seventeen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war-torn country remains in the grip of Islamist violence. A string of deadly attacks in the last year suggests militants are stronger than ever.
Image: picture alliance/Photoshot
Fragile security
Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.
Image: Reuters/M. Ismail
A long series of attacks
The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Hossaini
Spring offensive
In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.
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Trump's Afghanistan policy
US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Smialowski
Afghan peace process
Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Shirzad
Pakistani support
Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.
Image: DW/H. Hamraz
Role of the warlords
Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.
Image: Reuters/O.Sobhani
An inefficient government
In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism.
After a failed rocket attack on US Defense Secretary James Mattis at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport last month, Tillerson flew directly into Bagram Air Base for his first official visit to the country. Tillerson spent three hours in a heavily-guarded building on the base.
The US military facility has also been a frequent target of mortars and explosive-laden vehicles, but has escaped attacks in recent months despite a spike in attacks in the country by the resurgent Taliban.
The militant group has stepped up attacks as a direct challenge to US power. More than 200 people have been killed in multiple attacks on security installations and mosques across the country in the past week.
A spokesman for the Taliban told Agence France-Presse news agency last week the attacks were "a clear message ... the enemy who thought they had scared us with the new Trump strategy have now been given a lesson."
Tillerson will visit Pakistan on Tuesday and India on Wednesday. In Pakistan he is expected to press Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif to crack down on militancy in the country.
President Trump has threatened to cut aid and impose sanctions on Pakistan for allegedly harboring militants and supporting the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network.
In India he is expected to request that the government expands its economic and development assistance to Afghanistan.
Militant Haqqani Network - a brief history
Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, has passed away after a protracted illness, the Taliban announced. Why is the Pakistan-based outfit considered one of the most feared militant groups in the region?
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Remnants of the Afghan war against Soviets
The Haqqani Network was formed by Jalaluddin Haqqani, who fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. In 1995, the Haqqani Network allied with the Taliban and the two groups captured the Afghan capital Kabul in 1996. In 2012, the US designated the group a terrorist organization. On September 4, 2018, the Taliban announced that Jalaluddin passed away after a long illness.
Image: AP
An Islamist ideologue
Jalaluddin Haqqani was born in 1939 in the Afghan province Paktia. He studied at Darul Uloom Haqqania, which was founded in 1947 by the father of one of Pakistan's most prominent religious leaders, Maulana Sami ul Haq. Darul Uloom Haqqania is known for its alleged ties with the Taliban and other extremist groups.
Image: AP
Jalaluddin Haqqani as Taliban minister
Jalaluddin was made minister for Afghan tribal affairs under the Taliban rule. He remained in the post until the US toppled the Taliban regime in 2001. After the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Jalaluddin was considered the most influential militant figure in Afghanistan. Jalaluddin also had close links with the former al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.
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Where is the Haqqani Network based?
Security experts say the command center of the group is based in Miranshah city of Pakistan's North Waziristan region along the Afghan border. US and Afghan officials claim the Haqqani Network is backed by the Pakistani military, a charge denied by Pakistani authorities. Washington says the group's fighters launch attacks on foreign and local troops and civilians inside Afghanistan.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Tanveer
The Haqqani heir
It is believed that Jalaluddin Haqqani died in 2015, but his group denied those reports at the time. The network is now headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, Jalaluddin's son. Sirajuddin is also the deputy chief of the Taliban.
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Who is Sirajuddin Haqqani?
Although there isn't much credible information available about Sirajuddin Haqqani, security experts say he spent his childhood in the Pakistani city of Miranshah. He studied at Darul Uloom Haqqania, situated in Peshawar's suburbs. Sirajuddin is believed to be an expert on military affairs. Some analysts say Sirajuddin's views are more hard line than his father's.
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Anas Haqqani's death sentence
One of Jalaluddin's sons is Anas Haqqani, whose mother hailed from the United Arab Emirates. He is currently in the custody of the Afghan government and is facing the death penalty. The Haqqani Network has warned Kabul of dire consequences if Afghan authorities hang Anas Haqqani.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/National Directorate of Security
How big is the Haqqani Network?
Research institutes and Afghan affairs experts say the group has between three and ten thousand fighters. The network allegedly receives most of its funding from the Gulf countries. The Haqqani Network is also involved in kidnappings and extortion through which it funds its operations.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Tanveer
Ties with other militant groups
The Haqqanis have close relations with other regional and international terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Taiba and Central Asian Islamist groups. Jalauddin Haqqani was not only close to bin Laden, but also had ties with al Qaeda's current chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.
