美国国家公共电台 NPR The Key Role Pakistan Is Playing In U.S.-Taliban Talks

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We're seeing signs of hope for a peace deal in Afghanistan. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is currently reviewing a draft agreement reached by the U.S. and the Taliban. He has promised a response in coming days. Meanwhile, though, the violence is far from over in Afghanistan. This weekend, there were two attacks Afghan officials say were carried out by the Taliban. And there is violence in neighboring Pakistan, too. A bombing there earlier this month highlights the powerful and uneasy role that country plays in these peace negotiations¹. NPR's Diaa Hadid reports from Islamabad.

DIAA HADID, BYLINE²: Critics have long contended that Pakistan has held some sway over the Taliban by offering them shelter, if not outright³ support. But the extent of Pakistan's influence over the insurgents⁴ isn't clear. And that's deliberately⁵ so. This is Stephen Tankel, professor in the School of International Service at the American University.

STEPHEN TANKEL: They have long since made a practice of simultaneously⁷ trying to downplay their support for the Taliban while simultaneously trying to argue that any deal with the Taliban has to go through them.

HADID: But Pakistan has enough influence that it's been assisting negotiations. They're expected to allow most American forces to withdraw from Afghanistan, in return for the insurgents agreeing not to allow the country to become a base for global terror attacks. To kickstart negotiations last October, Pakistan released the co-founder of the Taliban. That man, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is now the Taliban's chief negotiator. And in December, at President Trump's request, Pakistani officials prodded⁸ the insurgents to take negotiations more seriously. That was after talks appeared to falter⁹. This is Madiha Afzal at the Brookings Institution.

MADIHA AFZAL: I think Pakistan is very aware of its strategic importance here.

HADID: She says Pakistan is trying to assert its own interests in Afghanistan.

AFZAL: Pakistan doesn't want huge conflict in Afghanistan, but it always wants to be relevant. The Taliban make Pakistan more relevant than the Afghan government, which, you know, has issues with Pakistan.

HADID: The key is when foreign forces leave and Afghans negotiate a political future. Abdul Basit is a retired¹⁰ diplomat¹¹ and president of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies in Islamabad. He says Pakistan wants Afghans to delay their upcoming presidential elections.

ABDUL BASIT: If the elections are held and we have a new president in Afghanistan, that will further complicate¹² the situation on the ground. Then perhaps the next step would be to postpone¹³ this election and come up with a national unity¹⁴ government.

HADID: That will include the Taliban. But how much power should they have? Shahid Latif is a retired air vice⁶ marshal. He often helps journalists understand the thinking of the Pakistani military.

SHAHID LATIF: I think Pakistan is supporting Taliban in getting to the mainstream¹⁵ part, which means they should be part of the government. And perhaps the world will not accept Taliban taking over complete Afghanistan. So I think we need to talk to Taliban, reach an amicable¹⁶ solution with them.

HADID: Latif says the current Afghan government, led by President Ashraf Ghani, is seen as friendly to their bitter enemy, India.

LATIF: Any government that is dependent on India will certainly not have any good feelings for Pakistan. So that is obviously unacceptable.

HADID: Afghans have long resented Pakistan's involvement in their country's affairs and their relations with the Taliban. Some fear if the insurgents are part of an interim¹⁷ government, they'll impose their harsh version of Islamic law or just seize power outright. But Basit, the retired diplomat, says Pakistan wants to prevent chaos¹⁸ from engulfing¹⁹ Afghanistan and potentially destabilizing his country, as well. Dear Hadid, NPR News, Islamabad.

(SOUNDBITE OF SOULAR ORDER'S "COMING HOME")

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

5 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

8 prodded   

v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
• He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

12 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

13 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

14 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

15 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

16 amicable   

adj.和平的，友好的；友善的

参考例句：

• The two nations reached an amicable agreement.两国达成了一项友好协议。
• The two nations settled their quarrel in an amicable way.两国以和睦友好的方式解决了他们的争端。

17 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

18 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

19 engulfing   

adj.吞噬的v.吞没，包住( engulf的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house darkness. 一位摄影师把电灯的保险丝烧断了，使整栋房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A professional photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house in darkness. 一位职业摄影师把保险丝烧断了使整所房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自辞典例句