Karzai suspends US talks, sets new conditions for Taliban negotiations AFP

• KABUL: The Afghan government on Wednesday threatened to boycott planned talks with the Taliban in Qatar announced by the United States, saying the peace process had to be “Afghan-led”.
• “The latest developments show that foreign hands are behind the Taliban’s Qatar office and, unless they are purely Afghan-led, the High Peace Council will not participate in talks,” a statement said.
• The High Peace Council is the government body in charge of leading peace efforts with the Taliban.
• The statement also criticised US involvement in the agreement to open the Taliban office that is meant to facilitate peace negotiations.
• “The opening of Taliban office in Qatar, the way it was opened and messages it contained, contradicts the guarantees given by the US to Afghanistan,” the statement said after a meeting at President Hamid Karzai’s palace.
• Karzai on Wednesday also broke off crucial security talks with the United States, angry over the name given to the Qatar office.
• The row centres on the Taliban office using the title “Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan” – the formal name of the Islamist movement's government from 1996 until it was toppled in 2001.
• Explaining the suspension of the security talks, Karzai’s spokesman Aimal Faizi earlier told AFP: “There is a contradiction between what the US government says and what it does regarding Afghanistan peace talks.
• “The president suspended the BSA (Bilateral Security Agreement) talks with the US this morning.”
• “The president is not happy with the name of the office. We oppose the title the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' because such a thing doesn't exist,” said a palace official who declined to be named. “The US was aware of the president’s stance.