Afghan peace: seven rounds of talks

The seventh round of parleys involving various segments of the Afghan society, representatives of the Afghan government (who participated in personal capacity) and the Taliban — held recently in Doha — has once again rekindled hopes for peace, though amidst a number of question marks. The joint declaration issued at the end of the parleys — facilitated by Germany and the Gulf states — was called the basic roadmap to comprehensive peace and a future political setup. The parties to the declaration vowed to end the violence in Afghanistan that has been continuing for the last 18 years. The central theme of the discussion focused on the rights of women and minorities; prospects for a ceasefire; withdrawal of foreign troops; and the political future of the country as a whole.

The declaration pledged efforts for eliminating civilian casualties and empowering women by giving them role in political, social, economic, educational and cultural affairs. Whether the declaration will be abided by all parties or not is a pertinent question. However, it does provide a framework entailing fixed terms and conditions for a final draft.

In this backdrop, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US representatives for Pakistan and Afghanistan, has emphasised on the settlement of intra-Afghan dialogues, centering on talks between the Taliban and Kabul as well as ceasefire. Khalilzad has not yet given any timeline for withdrawal of US troops from the Afghan soil because as per his statement it is “important to remember we seek a comprehensive peace agreement, NOT a withdrawal agreement”. Hence till date, there is no clarity in the US stance about exiting from Afghanistan, and its stay there may be extended till a settlement on the political mechanism in Afghanistan. Taliban’s chief negotiator Abbas Stanekzai has also said, “We do not have any disagreement with Americans.”

On the other hand, Dr Mutlaq bin Majid al Qahtani, the Qatari Special Envoy for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution, termed the talks a success, saying, “We are very pleased today to reach a joint statement as a first step to peace.” The words “success” and the “first step to peace” used by al Qahtani refer to the Taliban and Shariah — and not to the democratic government in Kabul or the Afghan women who suffered under the Taliban’s Shariah rule during the 1990s, or the common Afghans whose civil liberties are at stake. He added, “The Afghan Taliban — as a result of the Doha talks — marched closer to their stated objectives of enforcing Islamic Shariah rule in Afghanistan and of restructuring the Afghan government institutions, including the military, to their liking.” In this context, Afghan women’s fundamental “rights in political, social, economic, educational and cultural affairs” of Afghanistan were to be determined as per Islamic values.

Keeping in view the recent developments, it is still not clear as to what the intra-Afghan settlement will entail; what will be the mechanism for governance; and how security and economic issues will be handled independently after the US withdrawal. Moreover, whether the Taliban will become part of the political system and develop consensus on a republican and democratic setup in Afghanistan is also a big question mark.

The Taliban do not appear in a mood to give up on their demand of a complete withdrawal of the US troops before a ceasefire, for fear of losing a position of strength to negotiate in a post-truce scenario. The hawks emphasise on maintaining the combat tempo in order to stay relevant. To them, a ceasefire agreement does not make much military sense. Those in a position to predict believe that the Taliban’s combat operations would continue till their complete victory. They also advise Pakistan to brace itself for such a scenario at policy and planning levels.

While analysing the situation in Afghanistan, one has to be mindful that checkmating any other country runs contrary to the policy of peaceful coexistence and respect for the sovereignty of others. Afghanistan is a sovereign country with a membership in the United Nations. As a nation state, let her have the free choice to maintain her relationship with any country. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

The argument that the Taliban should control a portion of the country does not hold good. The Taliban in Pakistan were the alter ego of the Afghan Taliban. Both seek inspiration from the same sources of ideology and leaders. Both idealised Mulla Umar. Pakistani Taliban would, in their discourses, cite the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan as a model and Mulla Umar as a role model. Like the Afghan Taliban, they were closely aligned with al Qaeda. The Taliban in Pakistan had been able to control the whole of Malakand Division, the merged tribal districts and even portions of settled districts.

While these insurgents wanted to impose their brand of Shariah in their areas of control through the barrel of the gun, the state’s response came in the form of Operation Rah-e-Nijat and Operation Zarb-e-Azam. In this purview, the overarching national strategy under the National Action Plan also focused on zero tolerance towards violent extremism and armed non-state actors. Under the strategy, ungoverned spaces occupied by the insurgents were retrieved and the organisational structures of the militants were dismantled.

Similarly, the Afghan Taliban have been controlling portions of the war-torn country. However, this does not make their presence legitimate unless they lay down the arms and adopt peaceful means. Like Pakistan, Afghanistan has the full right to deal with the insurgents under their own set of laws. Taking Pakistan’s approach toward violent extremism as a case study, the Afghan government should not surrender to the demands of the Taliban from a position of weakness.

Peace will smile on Afghanistan once its sovereignty to make free choices is accepted and it is no longer subject to another “Great Game”. Durable peace requires cessation of violence and an all-inclusive dialogue. Compromising on Afghanistan’s and its government’s sovereignty will prove to be futile in the long term.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2019.

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