taliban Talks to Resume Amidst Hope Today
By Yoon Won-sup
with Emal Pashtunyar
Staff Reporter
Korean officials and the Taliban are set to resume their suspended dialogue, Thursday.
The Taliban militants' spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi told The Korea Times over the telephone that the two sides will commence new face-to-face negotiations at 2:30 p.m. (KST).
Ahmadi said the venue of the meeting _ under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) _ will be the office of the Afghan Red Crescent in Ghazni used in previous talks. He said the same negotiators, Mullah Bashir and Mullah Nasrullah, will carry forward the dialogue with the Korean delegation.
The spokesman expressed confidence that there would be a breakthrough, adding that the hostages were safe and Taliban militants would not issue any deadline on their lives while the two sides continue their talks.
Haji Muhammad Zahir, a tribal elder facilitating the talks, confirmed the two sides were going to restart their suspended dialogue.
Zahir escorted the two released female hostages and handed them over to ICRC officials outside Ghazni.
In a brief conversation with The Korea Times via telephone from Ghazni, Zahir said the Korean delegation conveyed to him its willingness for the resumption of talks with the Taliban. He said the Taliban also agreed and will negotiate to reach a consensus on the safe release of the remaining 19 hostages.
Zahir said the two women hostages released Monday had been handed over to him in an uninhabited area, following a call from the Taliban.
He said he did not know the whereabouts of the remaining captives, but the Taliban assured him that all of them were in good health.
Zahir said he was hopeful that there would be a peaceful resolution to the crisis and the remaining Koreans would reach their homes safely. ``I'm confident they will be freed safely,'' said the tribal elder.
He parried questions about a ransom allegedly paid to the Taliban and differences among the two sides over the amount of money. He also did not reply as to why the negotiations were suspended and who was the hostage who sacrificed herself for the release of her ailing colleague. ``Ask such questions to the Taliban who are holding the hostages,'' he said.
It is believed that the second round of talks will bear fruit _ some insiders believe the two sides might have obtained fresh instructions from their respective superiors.
It is also reported that the Taliban leadership is angry at the kidnapping of the Korean women and their being held for so long. They are said to be in favor of an early settlement of the issue, which, many people in Kabul and other provinces believe is harming the Taliban image there.