Daily Times

Hanif Atmar, the National Security Adviser to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani,has said that his country is optimistic about reaching peace with the Taliban,including the faction operating from Pakistan, although the Taliban have yet to formally respond to Afghan president’s offer for unconditional peace talks.

He was speaking recently at an event organised by the United States Institute of Peace.

“I am optimistic about talks because they [Taliban] proposed talks. The proposed for peace talks came from those within the Taliban, who have not spoken out publicly for fear of reprisals for their and their families,” he said.

Atmar said, “we already see a reduction in violence from 120 districts down to 80-plus districts.”He said there had been “a significant degradation of the insurgents’ capabilities,”including “a significant increase in the operation of the special forces of Afghanistan,” adding, “Unfortunately, there has been a growth of foreign fighters, hundreds of them coming from the Middle East through Pakistan and other regional routes.”

Atmar explained further that members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement travelled from western China to Afghanistan via Pakistan.

In 2014, following the Obama administration’s drawdown of US troops including the ending of the combat mission,the presence of Taliban across the country has increased. In 2015, ISIS declared a new faction of fighters in Afghanistan called ISIS-Khorasan.

According to Stars and Strips, a US military run newspaper, the top US general in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, said in a recent statement “About one in 10 Islamic State fighters

In Afghanistan are foreign fighters. The foreign IS-K fighters are primarily Pakistani Pashtun.”

An increase of foreign fighters is likely to not sit well with the Trump Administration, which is already careful not to draw down too soon.

On regional security, the Afghan government has reached out to Iran, Russia, China, India, Turkey and other ‘key Middle Eastern actors’. Responding to questions about the success of counter-terrorism and peaceful reconciliation, Atmar said,”the success of the two strategies is dependent on the role of regional actors.”

The invitation extended to Iran and Russia to support the strategy may prove contentious and complicate the US-Afghanistan relationship,given Trump administration’s focus on isolating Iran and ending the nuclear deal and recent expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats.

Responding to a question, Atmar told Daily Times that he believed the Taliban needed to make their own decision without feeling “coerced”, referring to the increased international pressure for coming to the negotiating table. He said, “at the same time, it has to be an environment where they cannot engage with conflict.”

“Afghanistan believes that Pakistan should provide the Taliban with disincentives. It should crack down on Taliban fighters seeking a safe haven in the country,” he said further, adding, “the role of Pakistan is central to the peace process and counter-terrorism. We are engaging with them on different levels to offer concrete measures on what they can do together with the Afghan government to support the peace process.”

His comments came ahead of a two-day Tashkent conference, in Uzbekistan where senior diplomats from the US, India, China and Pakistan will gathered to talk about peace in Afghanistan. The Taliban will be notably absent.

Despite the recent increase in violence in war-torn Kabul, the incentives that are being offered have been strengthened by the Trump Administration’s South Asia strategy, Atmar said.

As a presidential candidate, President Trump excoriated U.S. troops in Afghanistan. However, in August 2017, he allowed the Pentagon to deploy 4,000 troops to Afghanistan as part of a strategy that included U.S. troops advising forces on the ground, and working with other countries in the region including Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. Trump presented his strategy as a shift away from President Obama’s “nation-building” that he deemed a failure.

Published in Daily Times, March 29^th 2018.