RASC News Agency: The “Telegraph” recently reported that, on this day 14 years ago October 12, NATO authorized the entry of Taliban officials into Kabul. According to General David Petraeus, the former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, NATO forces facilitated the entry of several senior Taliban commanders into Kabul for discussions with the Afghan government.
The article revealed, “Several high-ranking Taliban leaders met with the Afghanistan government at the highest levels, and in some cases, they also held talks with other key countries in Afghanistan.” General Petraeus explained to “The Telegraph”, “At this stage, I think it would be fair to describe these discussions as preliminary. Certainly, they won’t lead anywhere.” These remarks were made just a day after NATO and U.S. officials declared their support for the Afghanistan government’s efforts to initiate peace talks with the Taliban.
At that time, Pakistan was a firm supporter of the Taliban and facilitated these negotiations by providing the group with weapons, ammunition, and safe havens for their leaders and members. The Taliban fought a brutal 20-year insurgency against the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Reports suggest that around 50,000 Taliban fighters and a similar number of Afghanistan government forces were killed during the two-decade conflict.
Following their takeover of Kabul, the Taliban arrested, tortured, and executed numerous former Afghanistan government soldiers on various charges. Currently, over 16,000 individuals, mostly former military personnel, are imprisoned by the Taliban, with many sentenced to medium or long-term imprisonment.
