Facing pressure from Afghanistan’s allies to participate in the upcoming Turkey conference, the Taliban said it will not attend any event, including the Istanbul summit, unless there is a change in the timeline for the withdrawal of US forces from the country. 

However, all other parties to the conflict are ready to attend the conference that is scheduled to be held on April 24. 

“We will review all affairs after the announcement of a change from the US about the timeline for withdrawal of foreign forces,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said, referring to their willingness to attend the summit. 

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a phone conversation with his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Haneef Atmar, said his country supports reconciliation in Afghanistan and progress in the peace process, in Istanbul.  

“I look forward to meeting FM Atmar at Istanbul Conference and to hosting him in Pakistan soon after to discuss a way forward post conference,” he said in a tweet. 

“After two years, we are fully prepared for the day and we have a comprehensive plan for their withdrawal,” Ghani assured. 

“We are ready for participation at the Istanbul conference,” said Fraidoon Khwazoon, spokesman for the reconciliation council. 

Sources close to the Taliban said that the group is facing mounting pressure from the international community to attend the Turkey conference in order to move peace efforts forward. 

“I don’t think that these pressures could change the Taliban’s stance. They are firm on their decisions,” said Jalaluddin Shinwari, an attorney general during the Taliban regime in Kabul. 

Meanwhile, quoting US officials, The Wall Street Journal has reported that top US generals, including Gen. Austin Miller, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, have recommended retaining the current force of 2,500 troops in the country while stepping up diplomacy to try to cement a peace agreement.