Spoilers at work

Amrullah Saleh, one of Afghanistan’s two vice presidents and a vociferous critic of the Taliban, survived a roadside bomb explosion on Wednesday, escaping with minor injuries. At least 10 people were, however, killed in the attack. The blast also caused a large fire after igniting gas cylinders for sale nearby, threatening to increase casualty figures. The Taliban denied involvement. The denial appears believable, given that they have largely abided by the terms of their peace deal with the United States, and that they would be unlikely to risk derailing upcoming peace talks with the Afghan government in Qatar.

For Saleh, being attacked is nothing new. The former Northern Alliance fighter-turned intelligence chief has been attacked several times before, and has risen past them. Given his past, it would be unsurprising to learn that Daesh was behind the attack. Although no one has claimed responsibility, Daesh has been behind most of the country’s recent violence and is the only major party uninterested in peace. But the peace talks do have their detractors. These parties have been quick to throw unfounded blame around instead of focusing on making the intra-Afghan talks a success.

At the same time, despite the impending US troop withdrawal, Washington remains a power player and is pushing hard to get the talks done. This is not all self-interest. Instead, it is the fact that, as acknowledged by several diplomats, these talks may be the best chance to end over 40 years of conflict and political instability in the country. But we must also remind that although the talks were part of the US-Taliban peace deal, their success or failure does not impact the US troop withdrawal, so long as the Taliban continue to fight everyone’s common enemy — Daesh — and prevent areas under their control to be used by terrorists.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2020.

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