Daily Times

During his visit to Washington, President Ashraf Ghani made a speech at the United States Institute of Peace on Wednesday, March 25. He acknowledged in his talk that some of the concerns of the Afghan Taliban are genuine and that there needs to be a way to apologise and make amends for the mistakes of the past and pave the way to a more peaceful future. He admitted that people were “falsely imprisoned” and “tortured” in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in New York. Reports of the CIA’s brutal interrogation techniques and false imprisonment of terror suspects have recently come to light in a report by a US senate committee. President Ghani referred to Rwanda and South Africa’s truth and reconciliation commission that sought to acknowledge the grievances of the victims of apartheid and allow the accused to accept and atone for their crimes without being punished for them. He also brought up the tribal jirgas of his country where issues are resolved by “putting a stone on conflict” for some years so that forgiveness and an amicable resolution is achieved naturally. The idea of “devising collective forms of therapy” for a traumatised and aggrieved Afghanistan is certainly a welcome one for the Afghans, who have been living amidst severe conflict and inhumane conditions during this war.

President Ghani’s positive attitude and acknowledgement of the concerns of the Taliban could nudge them closer to agreeing to the negotiations that both the Afghan and Pakistani governments are striving for. 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 perception that has taken place in the country. While there has been great speculation about whether these negotiations will take place and what will come of them if they do, the Afghan government appears dedicated in pursuing talks, having realised that negotiations are the only way to end Afghanistan’s decades’ long civil war. At this point in Afghanistan’s history, peace is necessary to provide some respite to the economically troubled, war-torn nation and its people. As President Ghani stated: “We cannot sacrifice the future for the sake of the past. We must bring about a balance. If we go just looking at the past, we will be destroying the future.” This spirit of reconciliation embodies the notion that “peace means forgiving blood”. None of the parties involved in the Afghan war are free of blame in exacerbating conflict and warfare. Therefore, the only way to move forward amicably is by making amends for and forgiving the mistakes of the past to resolve the issues of the present and ensuring a more peaceful future. *