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The Road to Peace

The Taliban and Kabul administration have realised that the only path
towards peace lies in negotiations rather than in the battlefield.

By Amjad Ali | January 2021

road-to-peace

After the US-Taliban agreement on 29 February 2020, the intra-Afghan negotiations were to take place in March that were delayed due to the contentious Afghan presidential elections, disagreements on prisoner swap, increased violence, Covid-19, etc. Analysts expressed skepticism that the peace process might face disruption. The challenges are not yet over, nevertheless agreement on rules and procedures by the Afghan parties in Doha has reassured the peace process in moving in the right direction.

The two Afghan sides agreed on ending two decades of violence from the troubled land. Nader Nadery, A member of the Afghan government negotiations team, tweeted, “The procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been finalized and from now on, the negotiations will begin on the agenda.” The Taliban spokesperson echoed the same.

The U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad said that the two sides had created ‘a three-page agreement rules and procedures for their negotiations on a political roadmap and a comprehensive ceasefire.’
This agreement will pave the way for more comprehensive dialogue encompassing all the points of disagreement between the Afghans. Besides, it also includes a political roadmap and ceasefire.

On the flip side, there are few hurdles which both sides should be cautious about. The spoilers will try to exploit the situation from the ongoing state of uncertainty that prevails in Afghanistan due to the change in administration in the United States, and the priorities of the President-elect Joe Biden. Additionally, Islamic State terrorists will try to strengthen their foothold inside Afghanistan as well and will unleash their brutalities in order to increase their reign of terror.

Secondly, India will also play the role of spoiler as the Indian state is beneficiary of chaos in Afghanistan. The Indian have established links with the militant organizations such as IS, TTP and Baloch insurgents as witnessed by the evidence produced by the DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. They presented the documentary proofs of Indian involvement inside Pakistan by using Afghan soil. Hence, India will be desirous of the derailment of the peace process in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s envoy to the UN, Munir Akram, has expressed his concern, “Spoilers, from within or without, must not be allowed to subvert the success of these negotiations and prevent a comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan. The machinations of such spoilers must be defeated.” Therefore, intra-Afghan factions should exhibit maturity and keep the spoilers at bay to achieve sustainable peace.

In view of the recent developments, there is every possibility for the success of the intra-Afghan negotiations. However, the path towards peace in the war-torn country will not be easy.

Afghans have now shown much flexibility and there is all the likelihood that the negotiations will move in the right direction. The Taliban and Kabul administration have realised that the only path towards peace lies in negotiations rather than in the battlefield. As a result, despite several hurdles, they are willing to sit across the negotiation table and discuss the irritants. Consequently, they signed an agreement on a set of rules and procedures on a political roadmap and a comprehensive ceasefire. The Afghan negotiation team spokesperson said, “The current negotiations ... show that there is willingness among Afghans to reach a sustainable peace.”

Besides, President-elect Joe Biden does not agree with President Trump’s plan for troops withdrawal as agreed in US-Taliban peace agreement. Biden believes that the US troops should maintain a sizeable presence in Afghanistan up to 1,500 to 2,000 soldiers for conducting special operations to ensure that the Al-Qaeda and IS terrorists do not gain a foothold in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, he is not in favour of a nation-building exercise. Biden, during a speech, said: “There’s no possibility to unite that country, no possibility at all of making it a whole country.” He has also promised to the Americans to bring a majority of troops back home. Hasty withdrawal may prove disastrous, so there should be a planned troop withdrawal.

In view of the recent developments, there is every possibility for the success of the intra-Afghan negotiations. However, the path towards peace in the war-torn country will not be easy. Thus, the factions have to show flexibility on the few irritants which need to be amicably resolved. Also, the issues of women rights, future constitutional framework, etc. are yet to be discussed.

The question of the future of the Taliban fighters also occupies a central importance. The Afghan faction may devise a strategy for the systematic merger of Taliban fighters with the Afghan National Army.

The international community should also continue to financially support Afghanistan till at least another decade. Afghanistan is not a self-sufficient country. It requires around $12 billion and it only generates $2.5 billion. The rest of the amount is donated by the donor countries. Through these donations, the international community can play its vital role in Afghanistan for the maintenance of peace and stability.

The role of the neighbouring countries particularly Pakistan is also prominent for pushing the Afghans for exercising maturity in these arduous negotiations, keeping the spoilers at bay; and convincing the Biden administration to steer the peace process in the right direction. After all, the road to peace in Pakistan runs through Afghanistan.

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