The Afghan Taliban said Tuesday they have reached a preliminary deal with Qatar to open a liaison office there in what could be the first step toward peace talks to end more than a decade of war. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the liaison office will conduct negotiations with the international community. He did not say when the office would open. For the United States and its allies, the idea of a Taliban political office in the Qatari capital Doha has become the central element in efforts to draw them into peace talks. “Right now, having a strong presence in Afghanistan, we still want to have a political office for negotiations,” said Mujahid. “In this regard, we have started preliminary talks and we have reached a preliminary understanding with relevant sides, including the government of Qatar, to have a political office for negotiations with the international community.” Mujahid's emailed statement also said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — the name of Afghanistan under Taliban rule — , has “requested for the exchange of prisoners from Guantanamo.” He was referring to a Taliban demand that the US military release about five Afghan prisoners believed to be affiliated with the Taliban from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney welcomed “any step ... of the Afghan-led process toward reconciliation.” For the US, one goal of talks with the Taliban would be to identify cease-fire zones that could be used as a steppingstone toward a full peace agreement that stops most fighting. The Obama administration wants to use its current extensive military campaign and an acknowledged but incomplete plan for a long-term American military presence in Afghanistan as leverage to draw the Taliban to talks with Karzai's representatives.
