Opinion: Future of Afghanistan will be won through peace talks with Taliban

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Gani had offered a conditional ceasefire to mark the Eid-ul-Azha festival. However, the answer to ceasefire request came in the form of rockets that were fired toward the Presidential palace in Kabul on August 21. 

The previous truce only lasted for three days in the month of June. 

The question that arises is, if these ceasefires are not leading to any peace-negotiations what will?

So far the message from the Taliban leadership has been consistent that they want the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate, that’s why Taliban never ever recognised the legitimacy of the Afghanistan government. Even after the present dispensation hinted towards the options of power sharing. Every time Taliban entered in any dialogue process, they directly referred to the US - for them the only party in the conflict.

As Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies highlighted, “Everybody says, the Taliban is tired. That’s why they want to talk. I don’t see it. I see a tired Afghan government, a tired Afghan military, and a tired NATO that just wants this war to end.”

Seventeen years ago, when the Taliban regime was ousted by the United States for providing support to terrorists, including Al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden, following the aftermath of 9/11. The US though violated the international norms of sovereignty, but its invasion was deemed justified because the Taliban rule was considered ‘illegitimate’ under democratic means.

Since then the installed-governments never seemed to chase the Taliban’s renewed insurgency, the militant outfit as per estimates is controlling almost 40 per cent territory. 

The US militarily was supposed to bring democracy and stability in the region, but it only brought nightmare. Recent example how US backed air-strikes killed 30 children and injured 51 in Dasht-e-Archi district of Kunduz on April 2, is a case in point. 

Hundreds of Afghanistan security personnel losing their lives besides over 1500 civilian casualties this year indicate the failure of state in securing its security apparatus.

Present government lack resources to combat corruption and poverty. Other limitation arises through fault lines in terms of ethnic division within tribal lords that are being exploited by the external agents (neighbouring states) ,which is hampering the prospect of negotiations.
 

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)