The Government of Afghanistan rejects the US plan to accelerate the peace process

US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad during his meeting with Peace Council President Abdullah Abdullah last week.HCNR / Reuters

The Afghan government rejects the US proposal to boost peace talks with the Taliban.

This is clear from the statements made this Monday by the first Afghan vice president, Amrullah Saleh, in which he discards sharing power with the guerrillas.

The plan accompanies a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the content of which was revealed by the ToloNews chain the day before.

In it, Blinken warns Ghani that Washington is still studying the withdrawal of its troops on May 1, which could lead to "rapid territorial advances" by the insurgents.

The letter has fallen like a jug of cold water on the Afghan government.

Vice President Saleh has assured that he is not "concerned about the letter" and that only an administration left the ballot box can govern the country.

"We appreciate your support for the US. They can decide on their troops, not on the people of Afghanistan," he said however this Monday during a televised ceremony.

"We will not ignore our Constitution," Saleh said, adding that "we can discuss the election and the date but will never let anyone to take the people's right of voting."

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Shortly before, at the same event, Abdullah Abdullah, the president of the Peace Council and the political rival with whom Ghani shares power after his electoral tie, has confirmed that both received the letter two days before the visit of the special envoy of The US, Zalmay Khalilzad, to Kabul last week, who met with both.

The president, for his part, reiterated on Saturday his opposition to any transfer of power outside the electoral process, although he was willing to advance the elections to facilitate the peace talks.

According to Biden's letter, the United States has undertaken diplomatic efforts "to move more meaningfully and quickly toward a solution and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire" in Afghanistan.

These include asking the UN to convene the foreign ministers of Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the US itself "to discuss a common position in support of peace" in the Asian country.

Furthermore, it is going to ask Turkey to host a high-level meeting between the two sides in the coming weeks to conclude a peace agreement.

It also refers to an attached document suggesting "a roadmap to a new inclusive government."

Although the three pages of the letter and the eight of the plan circulate on social networks, the State Department has declined to comment on its authenticity.

Less than two months after the date that the Trump Administration made a pact with the Taliban guerrillas to withdraw its soldiers from Afghanistan, the new White House gives the impression of wanting to close that chapter to focus on the main regional problem: Iran.

"We are considering the full withdrawal of our forces by May 1, as well as other options," says Blinken.

But as unpopular as the deployment in Afghanistan after two decades may be, the secretary of state is also aware of the risks of withdrawing without a minimum of understanding among Afghans.

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However, the dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban that the United States promoted in Doha (Qatar) has not advanced, amid reciprocal recriminations.

Meanwhile, the guerrilla, which with the United States promised not to attack international forces, has increased its operations against Afghan troops and extended its territorial control.

Many analysts are convinced that the insurgents have military victory at their fingertips, but fear that they will once again become a pariah government and lose the international aid that the country now receives.

The spokesman for the Taliban political office in Doha, Mohammad Naeem, has said that he has received a copy of the plan "that the media are talking about" and that it is being studied.

"Once debated, we will make our position known in this regard," he added, quoted by news agencies.