Afghan peace talks to continue

Afghanistan: Attempts to find a solution will continue

by Kate Clark in Kabul  - BBC

Talks to resolve the 20-year-old civil war in Afghanistan have ended with an agreement to meet again after the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha which is due next week.

Both sides in the Afghan civil war sent senior representatives to the talks in Saudi Arabia.

They held separate meetings with officials from the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Saudi Arabia.

The UN special representative on Afghanistan, and the Iranian deputy foreign minister were also present.

The northern alliance representative, Doctor Abdullah, said he had relayed opposition demands for a peaceful settlement and a representative government in Afghanistan.

Face-to-face talks

He said the opposition were ready for face-to-face talks with the Taleban without preconditions.

The Taleban representative, Amir Khan Mutaki, accused the opposition of making such statements in a bid to re-enter the Afghan political scene.

The Taleban control 90% of the land area of Afghanistan and still believe they can win the war militarily.

Doctor Abdullah denied that the opposition's readiness for negotiations was a result of military weakness.

Afghan civilians have greeted the talks with weariness.

Most people here have no hope that a peaceful settlement will be negotiated. People point to the fact that fighting intensified just before the peace talks began.

Such a pattern has become familiar over the years.

The opposition representative, Doctor Abdullah, has been attending negotiations with different Afghan factions since 1992.

He said he remained hopeful, but civilians see no end to the war in sight.