The Taliban is ready to completely disown the Al Qaeda, and is willing to work with the United States to improve security in Afghanistan, a major report has disclosed.
The report, compiled by the respected Royal United Services Institute, said that the group is prepared to allow the US to retain several military bases in Afghanistan and agree a ceasefire deal to end its 11-year conflict with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The report has been formed following interviews with four senior Taliban figures close to the organisation's leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, the
Telegraph reports.
According to the paper, the report said that the Taliban representatives believe there is "no natural enmity" with the Americans, and that they would be prepared to accept a long-term US military presence in the
country if it helped Afghan security.
The Taliban figures expressed hope that military assistance would translate into economic assistance over time, the report said.
According to the paper, the group's leadership deeply regrets its past association with the Al Qaeda and would obey a command to completely renounce the group once a ceasefire had been agreed.
The four representatives, including former government ministers, one of the group's founding members and a Mujahideen commander, also said that the US would have to guarantee not to launch any attacks on Pakistan or Iran from its Afghan bases, the paper said.
America would also have to end drone strikes from the country, they said.
According to the paper, the representatives, however, said that the US would be free to attack Iran from the Persian Gulf.