Daily Times

On May 2 and 3, Afghan ‘persons’ and members of the Taliban met in Qatar for talks, which both sides have asserted are not “peace talks” or “negotiations”. The Taliban are referring to this meeting as a “research discussion” and the Afghan ‘persons’ have called it a “scientific discussion”. The government has clearly stated that the people present in the delegation, led by President Ghani’s uncle, are there in a personal capacity and not representing the state. At this preliminary stage and with multiple bones of contention between the Afghan government and Taliban still looming, it would indeed be premature to refer to these talks as anything more than a preamble to peace talks. An Afghan official said that this meeting encourages them for more “formal meetings in the future”. A statement from the Taliban welcomed the government’s peace efforts and said that they favoured “cooperation in all sectors with all countries, including neighbours”. Yet the statement also reasserted the Taliban’s long standing position that they “won’t allow anyone to use Afghan soil against others” and demanded an end to all foreign presence in Afghanistan in response to the government’s proposition for them to accept the Afghan Constitution and become the political opposition. During his last visit to Washington, President Ghani requested President Obama to delay the withdrawal of the residual US troops from Afghanistan. President Obama agreed to stall the departure of the troops for the remainder of 2015 and a further presence thereafter. Despite its recognition of the necessity to reach a sustainable agreement with the Taliban, the Afghan government is not prepared to allow a destabilisation of the country by an abrupt withdrawal of US troops. The names of Taliban leaders, including those of some who attended the meeting, are still on proscribed lists, which is another hurdle to the Taliban’s possible agreement to the government’s terms. Although it does seem that the Taliban are willing to come to the negotiating table, Afghanistan’s war is far from over and its vestiges could linger for the next several years. The Taliban has started an insurgency in the Kunduz area that took the NATO-trained Afghan security forces by surprise. The group also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Kabul on Monday, in which 13 people were killed. It is clear from the continuing conflict in the region that the Taliban will not end their insurgency until a binding agreement is reached.

After years of mistrust and resentment on both sides, the path to peace is going to be neither short nor seamless. But if there is to be peace in Afghanistan, it is imperative for both sides to recognise each other’s concerns and reach a compromise. The fact that Afghan prominent personalities and the Taliban have finally met face to face shows that both parties are not as intransigent as they had been in the past. There has been a great deal of speculation amid fears that the Taliban would not be willing to negotiate with the government but this meeting offers hope that peace in the country is still a possibility. It seems that both sides are realising that this war cannot be won and will only result in more bloodshed and destruction. The fact that the President of Afghanistan now refers to the Taliban as his “political opposition” as opposed to anti-state insurgents reflects the change in the approach of the government towards the Taliban. Realising that he cannot squash the Taliban insurgency on the battlefield any more than his predecessor and the US could, it has been President Ghani’s prediliction to negotiate with them and end this war amicably since he took office. He has reached out to Pakistan, China and other stakeholders to facilitate the peace process and, as he stated in a speech during his trip to Washington, wishes to put “a stone on conflict”. Putting the resentment and mistakes of the past aside, all parties involved in the conflict in Afghanistan will need to move forward in the spirit of forgiveness and compromise to bring lasting peace and stability to the region. *