EU Warns of Establishment of Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan

The European Union  (EU)  Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Politics Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire in Afghanistan.

He said that any move to establish an Islamic emirate in that country would affect the support that the Union could provide.

  Borrell stressed today, Tuesday,  at a conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, to raise funds for Afghanistan,  that the ceasefire should not be a result of the peace process, but must accompany the process from today.

He warned that any attempt to establish an Islamic emirate again in Afghanistan will have an impact on EU's political and financial participation.

Afghan officials have confirmed that the Afghan government and the Taliban movement have reached a settlement of thorny issues that have been impeding for weeks the progress of peace talks, paving the way for the negotiations to proceed.

They are talking of overcoming obstacles hindering peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban

The Afghani government declares its full readiness to assume responsibility for security after the withdrawal of US forces

However, a senior Taliban official, who requested anonymity, said that "sufficient progress has been made."

He continued, "We are close to announcing and starting official talks," explaining that "a joint statement will be issued soon," perhaps in the next few days.

On his part, an Afghan official close to the negotiating delegation in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, said, "The two teams reached solutions to a number of contentious issues, which pave the way for the start of the talks."

Among the sticking points is the Taliban's insistence on following the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, but government negotiators fear that the matter will be used to discriminate against the Shiite Hazara minority and other minorities.

The two parties also disagree about the impact of the Taliban and the United States agreed on the peace agreement currently being negotiated.

The negotiations began in Doha after the Taliban and Washington reached an agreement last February, in which the United States agreed to withdraw all foreign forces from the country in exchange for security guarantees, and the Taliban pledged to start talks with the Kabul government.