Taliban Decline to Participate in Peace Talks; Taliban Kill More Than 10 People in Attack on Pakistani Courthouse; Multiple Cities on Security Alert During Shivratri

Taliban decline to participate in peace talks

On Saturday, the Taliban confirmed they would not join the next round of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) peace talks held by the United States, China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in Islamabad, Pakistan this month (NYT, WSJ, CNN, Reuters, FT). According to a statement from the Taliban’s website, “We reject all such rumors and unequivocally state that the leader of Islamic Emirate (the Taliban) has not authorized anyone to participate in this meeting.” The statement then listed the preconditions needed for Taliban participation in the peace talks, saying, “(Islamic Emirate) once again reiterates that unless the occupation of Afghanistan is ended, black lists eliminated and innocent prisoners freed, such futile misleading negotiations will not bear any results.”