Experts warn of spoilers over Afghan peace deal

ISLAMABAD: The peace agreement signed between the United States and Taliban in Doha recently is significant. However, it cannot be deemed substantial enough yet for creating sustainable peace in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Even though there are no victors or losers in this peace agreement between the US and the Taliban, it is up to the various political groups, who appear to be a motley crew, to accept the legitimacy of their political opponents and to find a way forward to form a grander national unity government.

These were some of the conclusions of a Symposium on “Intra-Afghan Dialogue: A New Hope” organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IRPI) in the federal capital on Wednesday. The speakers included former Pakistani ambassadors and diplomats who highlighted how peace in Afghanistan may not suit New Delhi’s ambitions for regional hegemony and can cause them to continue intervening in the politics and decision-making of the country.

The former diplomats cautioned Afghan politicians of issuing irresponsible statements which may derail efforts to find a solution to this 20-year old conflict. An intra-Afghan dialogue, they suggested, is the only hope for millions of citizens as well as the refugees who are hoping to return to their homeland. Such a scenario still seems implausible but is not entirely impossible.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2020.