Afghanistan's former President Hamid Karzai said Friday that peace in his homeland, ravaged by more than 17 years of war, will only be possible when Afghans from all sectors of society sit together and negotiate — including the Taliban.
Karzai expressed disappointment that a scheduled gathering for Afghan-to-Afghan talks in Qatar was postponed indefinitely after a falling out over who should attend. It would have marked the first time that Taliban and Kabul government officials sat together.
The talks, which were to start Friday in Doha, where the Taliban maintain an office, were considered a significant first step toward finding a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan, America's longest conflict, and the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.
The Taliban had previously refused to hold direct talks with the Afghan government, calling it a puppet of the U.S. They subsequently gave in to pressure and agreed to talks that included Kabul representatives, though they said they would recognize them only as ordinary Afghans, rather than government officials or ministers.
On Thursday, however, Qatar's Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, which sponsors the talks, announced the postponement, saying "this is unfortunately necessary to further build consensus as to who should participate in the conference."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Karzai would not blame either side for the cancellation, instead urging the United States to "put force behind it to make it (talks) happen."
He also praised Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad as "the very best person for the job" of resolving the Afghan crisis.
"I believe the United States wants some sort of settlement in Afghanistan," Karzai told The Associated Press. "I do believe that, but I want the U.S. to be much clearer about its roadmap ... to do everything it can to make the process move forward."
Plans for the talks went awry when the Qatari hosts said the government side could bring 243 people to the talks. Their lists differed from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's list of 250 people, which included many more women, according to a senior government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
In a statement Friday, the Taliban said Ghani had sabotaged the talks by declaring the people on his list were government representatives. Ghani in turn blamed the Taliban for scuttling the talks by getting Qatar to allow a different list, one that had dropped several government ministers and 44 women.
Karzai was not among those planning to attend Qatar talks but he had attended a round table in February in Moscow in which the Taliban met with dozens of prominent Afghans.
While government representatives were not sent by Ghani to Moscow, there were some senior officials present, including a deputy to Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, as well as a member of a government- appointed High Peace Council. Ghani was critical of the Moscow meeting.
The organizers in Qatar could take lessons from the Moscow meeting, said Karzai.
"Together with the Taliban we all sat together under the Afghan flag," he said. "We discussed the constitution, women's rights. Why couldn't this happen this time?"
Karzai said he has pressed the Taliban to talk directly with the government, but urged the government to be the bigger side, and look at an intra-Afghan dialogue that does not have an official government seal as a possible precursor to direct talks.
"The process has to continue," said Karzai. "I am sad today, but still hopeful as ever that we will definitely ensure an intra-Afghan dialogue takes place."
"This is what Afghans want. They want peace. We need to be united," he said.
Associated Press writer Amir Shah in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
