Political parties mull US peace plan that ‘offers’ Taliban 50%

Members of a number of different political parties said Tuesday that under the new US plan for a transitional government, the Taliban has been offered a 50 percent stake in the system with the balance shared between politicians and government.

The sources said they have been in consultations regarding the proposal delivered by US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad last week.

Meanwhile, sources from the Jamiat-e-Islami party said they proposed the power-sharing plan to the US – but said it should be divided up equally between government, political parties, and the Taliban.

Other sources have meanwhile said the Taliban and government have been offered an equal share in provincial seats, ministry representation, seats in the National Assembly, and in the judiciary institutions.

“We are consulting on the plan but we do not accept it. Power should be divided between three players: government, the political parties, and the Taliban,” said Abdul Sattar Murad, a senior member of Jamiat-e-Islami.

The Taliban, have not however commented on this but said on Sunday night they were reviewing the proposal.

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh meanwhile said on Monday that Afghanistan will never accept demands that could jeopardize the people’s right to vote.

He said the letter sent out by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to key stakeholders, was a proposal for a new political structure in Afghanistan, and that it was “shameful” and he would “resist it”.

“Let me be clear I will not sign it,” Saleh said.

But some politicians are on board with the idea and said a “participatory system” under the umbrella of the Republic was acceptable. Others have said they are still discussing the proposal.
“This US plan is not final. It has the ability to change and be adjusted. Politicians will sit down and come to a general conclusion about this plan. The Moscow-Ankara meeting has been used for this plan,” said Hafiz-Ur-Rahman Naqi, the deputy head of Hizb-e-Islami in reference to a planned peace meeting in Moscow next week and a proposed summit in Turkey at a later stage.

According to sources, the US peace plan for Afghanistan also states that the Republic and the Taliban will have an equal say in selecting members of a transitional government within the framework of peace.