According to news reports, the Afghanistan ambassador to the UAE has said that the Afghan peace talks, now stalled in Qatar, should be rotated to other venues, indicating the Qatari hosts had not pushed hard enough for the Taliban to reduce violence.

This development clearly shows that the UAE, too, seeks to play an important role in the Afghan peace process. It is important to recall that the UAE was one of the only three countries, along with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which recognised the Taliban when they were in power in Afghanistan. In other words, Qatar was not among the three countries that recognised the Taliban rule. A beleaguered Ashraf Ghani government appears to have taken the right decision by seeking the support of the UAE to brighten its prospects insofar as the Afghan peace deal is concerned.

WALEED AHMED (ISLAMABAD)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021