Taliban No-Show For Talks Indicates Group Wants To Impose Conditions - Pakistani Senator

The recent postponement of the Istanbul conference on Afghan peace demonstrates that the Taliban believe they have won the war and are in a position to impose their own terms and conditions, Pakistani Senator Sehar Kamran told Sputnik on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2021) The recent postponement of the Istanbul conference on Afghan peace demonstrates that the Taliban believe they have won the war and are in a position to impose their own terms and conditions, Pakistani Senator Sehar Kamran told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday that the conference, initially scheduled to start on April 24, would be postponed until after mid-May.

"I believe that Taliban think they have won the war and won't accept anymore conditions by the US or any other parties of the peace summits. They are likely to impose their own terms and conditions in the coming days, because they believe that they have outlasted the American power and patience in Afghanistan. Now it is just a waiting game for them," Kamran said.

The senator underlined that the United States wanted to exit Afghanistan after nearly two decades of presence in the Central Asian country; though former US presidents Barak Obama and Donald Trump had announced the departure of American troops from Afghanistan, they were not able to carry it through.

"It looks like Biden will be the US President to bring the US troops home. Mainly because America cannot afford the cost and rationale behind staying in Afghanistan anymore. In addition, the domestic support in the US about the country's involvement in Afghanistan war is at an all-time low," she said.

Earlier in April, President Joe Biden said that the United States would begin its final withdrawal from Afghanistan on May 1 and complete its withdrawal ahead of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.