Some US officials have said that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was blindsided in the peace process when the US met with the Taliban in Doha. 

According to a New York Times report, when Washington ordered US diplomats to engage with the Taliban directly in the hopes of resuming the stalled peace process, many Afghans welcomed it as a positive step towards breaking the stalemate. 

The officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said when Ghani was among them, he projecting a measured tone but in private he repeatedly expressed concern and resistance to the US’s decision not to include government in the talks.

According to the New York Times report, Ghani’s concerns were solidified when the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, flew to Qatar and quietly met with Taliban representatives.

The report states that Ghani and his government heard of that meeting through news reports, and found out further details, not through his American allies — even after he asked — but through a Taliban statement. This was reportedly revealed by several officials with detailed knowledge of the developments.

“The Afghan government says that the Taliban must engage in talks with us, because we (the Afghan government) represent the people of Afghanistan, but the Taliban insists that you (Afghan government) do not represent the Afghan people,” said former Taliban commander Sayed Akbar Agha.

Meanwhile, Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan Zahir Nasrullah Khan has said that Khalilzad’s visit to Islamabad shows that the US is now focusing on a political settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan. 

These officials said that the Afghan president is furious about the breach of trust between allies, just months before a presidential vote in which he will seek a second term.