Quoting western diplomats, British newspaper The Times reported yesterday that the proposed office was designed to allow the West to begin formal peace talks with the Taliban.
Although the report is not independently confirmed, analysts believe that Qatar could be an ideal choice to host the office, given its enviable track record as a successful mediator in the region.
Qatar’s mediatory role had been instrumental in resolving the political crisis in Lebanon, following the assassination of President Rafiq Hariri and bringing the warring Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah to the negotiation table.
A solution to the Darfur crisis has become closer with negotiations among the Sudanese government and the various rebel groups progressing in Qatar.
“Qatar is perfectly positioned to serve as a venue for the discussion (with Taliban). This position is the result of Qatar’s ability to negotiate the complex politics of the region in a away that so far demonstrated its evenhandedness in dealing with various regional and international actors,” Dr Mehran Kamrava, director of the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) at the Georgetown University Qatar told The Peninsula when sought his comments on the report yesterday.
“It is not surprising that Qatar might be mentioned as a country where Taliban would open a diplomatic office,” he added.
Kamrava said the reported US move “also reflects a realization on the part of the US that Taliban has become a highly influential force in Afghanistan that cannot be simply be defeated militarily.”
“US has recognised the need for doing some sort of discussion and communication, if not negotiation, with the Taliban,” he noted.
A prominent Qatari political analyst when contacted by this newspaper yesterday refused to comment on the issue saying that the report has to be officially confirmed by the Qatari authorities.
The proposed office in Qatar would be the first internationally recognised representation for the Taliban since it was ousted from power by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Western diplomats told The Times it was hoped that opening a Taliban office in Qatar would push forward the prospect of talks intended to reconcile insurgents with the Afghan government and bring an end to the decade-long war, news agencies reported yesterday.
Washington is believed to have insisted that the office be located “outside Pakistan’s sphere of influence,” the report said.
“It will be an address where they have a political office,” one Western diplomatic source, who was not named, told The Times.
“It will not be an embassy or a consulate but a residence where they can be treated like a political party.”
The diplomat stressed that the Taliban would not be allowed to use the office in Doha, to raise funds.
The Times reported that the Taliban was seeking assurances that its representatives would be free from the threat of harassment or arrest.
Britain declined to say whether it supported the creation of a Taliban office in Qatar. “This is a matter for the United States,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.