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Saudi crown prince to meet members of Taliban on trip to Pakistan

Saudi Arabia thought to have sway over Afghan militants

Saturday 16 February 2019 12:02 GMT

Pakistani motorcyclists pass by a banner welcoming Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, displayed on the occasion of his visit in Lahore, Pakistan, on Saturday 16 February 2019. (AP)

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is likely to meet Afghan Taliban representatives during his visit to Pakistan on Sunday, in an effort to broker an end to Afghanistan’s 17-year-old civil war, Pakistani government sources have said.

Pakistan has been playing an increasingly vital role in the Afghanistan peace talks, which have been gathering momentum in recent months amid a growing US desire to pull out its troops.

Along with other Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia has been part of the peace negotiations and is seen to have some sway over the Afghan Taliban militants due to Riyadh’s historical ties with the hardline Islamist group and the kingdom’s religious clout as the birthplace of Islam.

Two senior Pakistani officials said the crown prince was likely to meet Afghan Taliban representatives in Islamabad, where the militants, fighting to restore strict Islamic rule in Afghanistan after their 2001 ouster, say they are due to meet US representatives and Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan.

“Though it is top secret so far, there are strong indications representatives of the Afghan Taliban will meet Prince Salman during their visit of Pakistan on 18 February,” one Pakistani official in Islamabad said.

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

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1/16Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2001

Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2002

Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002)

All photos Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2003

A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyan’s destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2007

Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2007

Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2008

A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2009

Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital city’s addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2009

An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2009

Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009).

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2010

US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2010

An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2014

Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2014

Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2014

Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2014

Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014)

Paula Bronstein

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear

2015

Relatives, friends, and women’s rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Qur’an. (Kabul, March 22, 2015)

Paula Bronstein

A senior Taliban leader in Qatar said no decision had been made on whether they would meet the crown prince.

Mohammed bin Salman: Islamic law 'does not particularly specify a black abaya or a black head cover'

“Actually meeting Prince Salman is not in the plan so far but we can discuss it when we are in Islamabad,” said the Taliban representative.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office and Saudi Arabia’s government did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The crown prince is expected to leave Pakistan on Monday after signing a raft of investment agreements in the energy sector for more than $10bn.

But his trip, which Islamabad is treating as the biggest state visit in years, risks being overshadowed by escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following a militant attack on Indian security forces in the disputed Kashmir region.

New Delhi says Pakistan had a hand in the attack by a militant group which is based on Pakistani soil, something Islamabad denies.

Reuters

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